DOD awards $39.9 million to strengthen U.S. supply chains for printed circuit boards

The Department of Defense awarded $39.9 million via the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) Program to Calumet Electronics Corporation to enhance capabilities to produce High-Density Build-Up (HDBU) substrates, which include High-Density Interconnect Printed Circuit Board (PrCB) cores and HDBU build-up layers.

"The Biden Administration has prioritized the need to support and advance the domestic PrCB and advanced packaging industrial base," says Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. "These technologies are critical for modern weapons systems and will contribute to maintaining our warfighting edge over potential adversaries."

Calumet can scale up engineering, tooling, and manufacturing operations to establish domestic production capabilities for HDBU substrates. HDBU substrates and advanced packaging are critical enabling technologies for sixth generation systems and applications, including for radar, electronic warfare, processing, and communications. The place of performance is Calumet, Michigan. 

To date, in calendar year 2023, the DPAI Program has made 22 awards totaling $714 million. DPAI is overseen by the ASD(IBP)’s Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Program (MCEIP), in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience.