2015 ROADMAP DOD EXECUTIVE AGENT FOR PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD AND INTER-CONNECT TECHNOLOGY

摘要

Protecting U.S. interests depends on an effective military that is sustainable throughout the duration of any conflict. The protracted movement of domestic manufacturing capability offshore calls into question the sustainability of U.S. military technological superiority. A trusted supply chain maintaining a chain of custody for printed circuit boards (PrCBs) and interconnect technology is paramount to ensure the products provided to the Warfighter continue to meet all performance, safety, integrity, availability, quality, reliability, and affordability requirements. Today's military systems rely heavily on electronics to complete their intended missions, and PrCBs and interconnect technology are a critical and integral part of those electronics. The U.S. PrCB industry has continued to move manufacturing facilities offshore and buy from foreign suppliers. In the 1980s, the U.S. had more than 2,000 PrCB manufacturers. By the year 2000, the number had decreased 66% to 680 manufacturers. Between the years 2000 and 2014 the U.S. PrCB manufacturing base decreased by another 59% from 680 shops to 280. In contrast to these declines in the domestic PrCB manufacturing base, the world market for PrCBs more than doubled from $30B in the year 2000 to over $60B in 2013. U.S. production continued to decline during this period, decreasing in worth by 70% from $10B to $3B. With these trends, the U.S. military is becoming increasingly vulnerable to foreign, and sometimes unfriendly, suppliers to meet critical military PrCB requirements. The 2015 DoD Printed Circuit Board and Interconnect Technology Roadmap addresses two fundamental questions: 1. Does the United States have the domestic capability, capacity, and knowledge to produce PrCBs to sustain U.S. military technological superiority? 2. What measures must be taken to ensure a viable domestic capability to produce PrCBs, manage the PrCB supply chain, provide a chain of custody, and combat counterfeit materials?