Essential Guide to Semiconductors, The

Military Electronics

Military spending on semiconductors is relatively small, given the popular view about overspending on development and procurement. On the other hand, military procurement departments tend to be conservative in their use of new technology, often waiting several years before replacing mechanical devices with electronic ones or adopting new components over older ones. Ostensibly, this avoids teething problems with raw, untried technologies. In fact, it's sometimes counterproductive because older parts might be nearly obsolete or have undesirable features that are improved in newer chips. Since the 1980s, the U.S. military has made a concerted effort to avoid custom, one-off, and expensive “military specials” and stick to commercial, ...