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www.us - tech.com


July, 2022


National Security at Risk: Dangers of a Sole Source Monopoly


By Martin Hart, CEO, TopLine Corporation I


n today’s troubled world, we rely on our defense establishment and industrial base to keep us secure with adequate


weapons and sophisticated systems to defend our homeland. We take it for granted that, when we wake up in the morning, our nation- al security is credible and that the infrastruc- ture to support it is reliable and secure. But the guidance systems for missiles


and warfighters, for example, rely on elec- tronic components. Surges in demand and disruptions in the supply chain, whether nat- ural or man-made, are a risk at any given time. Shortages of semiconductor chips have slowed production and consequently the sup- ply of automobiles available for consumers to purchase. The same principle — shortages of parts — can obviously affect the availability of missiles and warfighters in times of con- flict, with far more critical potential impact. Military leaders in our command struc-


ture are keenly aware that risks and vulner- abilities constantly challenge the industrial base’s ability to seamlessly perform as expected. Indeed, experts in the Defense and Aerospace industrial base routinely assess risks that include diminishing manufactur- ing capabilities, especially when relying on sole source suppliers.


Critical Attachments Let’s consider the case of field program-


mable gate array devices, or FPGAs. They are essential electronic components in sophisticated military and aerospace guid- ance systems. Warfighters can’t fly without FPGA devices. One would think that America’s defense system would make cer- tain that there are multiple, redundant sources for such important devices, and yet this is not so. A sole-source subcontractor effectively constrains America’s defense grade FPGA production. How can this be so? FPGA devices are constructed using


Diagram of a solder column, used to connect FPGA devices to PCBs.


And yet it should be noted that most of


these big companies listed on the qualified products list by the U.S. Department of Defense rely on smaller subcontractors to supply the materials and subcomponents that come together to create a final product.


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hundreds and in some cases thousands of sol- der columns, a critical subcomponent smaller than a grain of rice, to attach the FPGA to the circuit board or circuit assembly. These columns, which are specially made pins, must be attached to the body of the FPGA before they can be connected to the PCB. While there are around 10 companies


manufacturing radiation-hardened FPGAs in the United States, only one small company is qualified to attach these pins to the component body. Is such a monopoly dangerous? What if a catastrophe such as a fire or other unforeseen


Continued on next page


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