USPAE Launches $42M DoD Consortium

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Peters: USPAE was actually spun out from IPC, so we have that connection there. But because they are a global organization, we do have firewalls in place to make sure that we protect the information that flows through USPAE. We do have connections with other organizations. The National Defense Industrial Association is one. I sit on the electronics division for that and several of the committees as well. We’ll be looking to establish connections with other associations along the way. But keep in mind, we’re still fairly new, and so we’re getting a lot of these things in place.

Johnson: Is there a threshold in company size, or is this the sort of situation where anybody in this space—no matter how big—can get involved?

Peters: There’s no limit on size, but we do have requirements. You have to be organized in the U.S. or one of the allied countries, according to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation supplement; and if you design, assemble, or manufacture electronics, you have to become certified to the IPC-1791 standard within a year of joining. That was a standard that was developed in collaboration with the Department of Defense’s Executive Agent for Printed Circuit Boards and Interconnect Technology. Now, some of the projects may have tighter requirements, but those are the requirements to get into USPAE.

Johnson: For an organization interested in connecting, what is the most effective way for them to reach out and connect with the Defense Electronics Consortium?

Peters: Through our website is one of the best. That’s up today at USPAE.org, and we’re going to relaunch the site here in a few weeks with even more information and resources. We’re also about to launch a members-only portal with other resources. From our website, you can get information on how to call or email us.

Johnson: You mentioned doing some outreach to Congress as well. What’s happening there?

Peters: Well, IPC has been raising a lot of these issues, along with its members, up on the Hill. They’ve taken a keen interest in what we’re doing at USPAE and now with the Defense Electronics Consortium. I have a briefing next week with staffers for both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, so they’re very interested in what’s going on.

There is now a greater recognition, not just in the Pentagon, also on the Hill, of the risks and liabilities we have around electronics. In the past, much of the focus on electronics has been on the semiconductor. What we’ve been doing is help them realize that you need to be thinking about the entire electronics ecosystem or supply chain, because at any point in that supply chain, whether it’s a half-cent capacitor or a cable or whatever it might be, any issue with constraint or compromise at one of those nodes can result in problems for the entire component or system.

Sweeney: I want to emphasize there’s great value across the board here. I mean, this truly is a nonpartisan effort, a partnership. The government, and in particular DoD, needs an extra voice out here. With a new administration, there will be a new team coming into the Pentagon. There’ll be some new initiatives and efforts, and they’re going to need entities like USPAE to be a conduit within Congress and the Pentagon, and then back within the industry.

We haven’t really talked about cybersecurity, but it’s the same thrust. It’s going to come to, at some point, a cost for industry to invest for the future. Ultimately that may be the entry card to compete for contracts. Timing is everything, and by establishing USPAE at this time, you couldn’t have found a better time for us to be effective here, helping across the board and serving as a bridge.

Johnson: My wrap-up question for you: When will this program be considered a success?

Peters: I think that we will have small successes along the way when we’re helping companies connect to new opportunities, whether they be government or commercial in nature. Members will be able to quickly find new companies to partner with, and then go after opportunities that they couldn’t have done on their own. They will also gain connections to prime contractors through the USPAE network. We’ll see successes on the part of the Department of Defense as they start to identify and address the gaps and risks in the electronics supply chain.

But when I think about the big picture, and how we measure success, it’s going to be when our U.S. electronics industry becomes more globally competitive, which will give the DoD, and the U.S. government, a trusted and assured electronics industrial base they can rely on. .

As for the companies, this success can be measured in terms of revenue, profits and exports. For the government, you’re going to measure that in terms of shorter lead times, lower costs, greater resiliency in the face of disruption, and the ability to respond to surges in demand.

Sweeney: Nolan, I think, ultimately, that intermediate or incremental successes will be in trust. It will be when the government trusts what USPAE brings forward, when we’re in the room and we’re part of the dialogue about important issues with regards to the industry standards. We don’t need to be big to do that, but I do think that’s when you can say this organization has fulfilled its mission and is a success.

Whiteside: The one thing I would add is the emphasis on partnership. I mean, it’s in the name, and success looks like success for everybody in all aspects of the partnership. It’s in all of our collective interests, as partners to optimize that and to improve that. It’s got to be a success for the entire partnership.

Johnson: Gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to talk about this new Consortium.

Peters: Thanks for having us.

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