IPC Applauds U.S. Defense Department for Establishing New Defense Electronics Consortium

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IPC, the global association of electronics manufacturers, is applauding the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for establishing a new Defense Electronics Consortium (DEC).

The DoD recently awarded $3.9 million to the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) to establish and manage the consortium, through which industry and academia will work with DoD to solve the government’s electronics-related challenges. USPAE is an independent, nonprofit subsidiary of IPC.

IPC President and CEO John Mitchell said, “As a global organization, IPC believes all nations should take steps to ensure trusted supply chains for electronics related to essential government functions such as national security.

“Electronic systems and devices are at the heart of today’s defense and security systems, and DoD is wise to create a mechanism for having visibility into – and relationships across – the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem,” Mitchell added.

The USPAE’s affiliation with IPC provides connections to about 2,000 U.S. member companies across all parts of the supply chain, as well as relevant research and academic institutions. IPC, in collaboration with U.S. electronics manufacturers, created USPAE to support industry partnership with the U.S. government. Due to the sensitive nature of some of the work being done through USPAE, appropriate firewalls have been put in place between the organizations. 

The DEC’s first project will be an effort to accelerate the adoption of lead-free electronics in defense systems. Industry experts believe a five-year, $40 million investment in a public-private program would yield more than $100 million in U.S. defense savings per year and improve military readiness and overall innovation. The Congress has provided $15 million for such efforts since FY 2020.