Biden administration says New Hampshire computer chip plant the first to get funding from CHIPS law
The Biden administration is announcing the first allocation of incentives from last year’s bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced the first of many coming federal investments in computer chip production, saying Monday that it would provide $35 million for BAE Systems to increase production at a New Hampshire factory making chips for military aircraft, including F-15 and F-35 jets.
This would be the initial allocation of incentives from last year's bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which provides more than $52 billion to boost the development and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.
The Commerce Department's choice of a military contractor instead of a conventional chip manufacturer reveals the national security focus of the law, as more and more weapons systems depend on advanced chips that could be decisive in both preventing and fighting wars.
“We can’t gamble with our national security by depending solely on one part of the world or even one country for crucial advanced technologies,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who called the investments a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance our national and economic security and create a thriving, long-lasting domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry.”
President Joe Biden signed the incentives into law in August 2022 partly out of concerns that a military attack on Taiwan could deprive the world of advanced computer chips and plunge the U.S. into a recession.
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the fragility of computer chip supplies as a worldwide shortage curbed U.S. auto production and pushed up prices around the start of Biden's presidency.
“Over the coming year, the Department of Commerce will
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