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In life, and COTS supplies, there are no guarantees


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

In life, and COTS supplies, there are no guarantees

Posted by Courtney E. Howard

Rumors are rampant that Apple Inc. management, having just acquired P.A. Semi of Santa Clara, Calif.,
seeks to end production of various chips used by the military, including the high-performance, low-power PWRficient processor. The PWRficient CPU is employed in programs through most, if not all, branches of the U.S. armed services, say P.A. Semi representatives. In fact, one unnamed defense contractor expects to employ tens of thousands of the chips over the next decade—that is, if the processor is still available.

Defense customers, including primes, subcontractors, and systems integrators, have approached and sought the help of officials at the U.S. Department of Defense out of concern.

P.A. Semi’s PA6T-1682M, released in February 2007 as a lower-power, dual-core, and 64-bit variant of PowerPC CPUs, was rapidly adopted in defense applications—a rarity for new processor releases, which are oft met with the common “wait-and-see” mindset.

When news hit in April that Apple planned to acquire the company, P.A. Semi executives reported that they could no longer guarantee supplies of its chips. The startup did not identify the acquiring company but said that company may be willing to supply the chip on an end-of-life basis, if it could successfully transfer a third-party license to the technology. A single military program can span more than a decade, and yet supply of the chips cannot be guaranteed—not for a week, month, or year.

This news is particularly concerning for defense customers—a growing number of whom, such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, reportedly use P.A. Semi processors.

Should the DOD step in, and confront Apple officials with the concerns? Perhaps more importantly, does the DOD and mil-aero market have any clout with big commercial businesses?

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Welcome to the lighter side of Military & Aerospace Electronics. This is where our staff recount tales of the strange, the weird, and the otherwise offbeat. We could put news here, but we have the rest of our Website for that. Enjoy our scribblings, and feel free to add your own opinions. You might also get to know us in the process. Proceed at your own risk.

John Keller for MAE
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.


Courtney Howard for MAE Courtney E. Howard is senior editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine. She is responsible for writing news stories and feature articles for the print publication, as well as composing daily news for the magazine's Website and assembling the weekly electronic newsletter. Her features have appeared in such high-tech trade publications as Military & Aerospace Electronics, Computer Graphics World, Electronic Publishing, Small Times, and The Audio Amateur.


John McHale for MAE John McHale is executive editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, where he has been covering the defense Industry for more than dozen years. During that time he also led PennWell's launches of magazines and shows on homeland security and a defense publication and website in Europe. Mr. McHale has served as chairman of the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum and its Advisory Council since 2004. He lives in Boston with his golf clubs.

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