Defense Leaders Receive First Intel SHIP Multi-Chip Prototype

April 12, 2023

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) last week celebrated a milestone achievement for the State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging (SHIP) Program with the delivery of the first SHIP prototype devices. At a ceremony in Falls Church, lead demonstrator BAE Systems, Inc. received the first two of these prototypes – Intel’s Multi-Chip Package (MCP-1) for SHIP Digital and Qorvo’s Multi-Chip Module (MCM-1) for SHIP Radio Frequency (RF).

“The DoD is taking strategic steps to protect our military’s technological advantage. The SHIP program is an excellent example of what we are doing to achieve this mission,” said Heidi Shyu, DoD Chief Technology Officer. “This is a momentous occasion, and it reinforces our commitment to returning the United States to a dominant position in the microelectronics industry.”

The SHIP Program develops pathways for sustained DoD access to SOTA microelectronics packaging capabilities by leveraging commercial industry production flow to meet the DoD’s unique requirements. Utilizing the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S^²MARTS) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), the SHIP Program has partnered with Intel and Qorvo to develop prototype devices for DoD systems that will demonstrate enhanced capabilities along with size, weight, and power (SWaP) savings beneficial to the warfighter.

Under SHIP Digital, Intel’s MCP-1 is in prototype production and MCP-2 will begin the prototype production process in the near term. Both MCPs contain SOTA chiplets with advanced functionality, low power, smaller size, and cutting-edge performance, along with Intel Agilex advanced Field Programmable Gate Array technology. Through Qorvo’s SHIP RF Design Center and Assembly & Test Center in Richardson, Texas, their MCM-1 will provide form, fit, and function replacement of a legacy chip and wire design, resulting in significant production cost savings, reduced footprint, and improved performance.

Additional prototype devices are in development under the SHIP Program.

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