Although hard numbers are difficult to come by, it’s likely that there’s never been another time in history where semiconductors have been so vital when it comes to the defense industry. With entire military branches dedicated to the defense of outer space and various digital environments, it’s possible that the modern armed services simply couldn’t exist without these handy gadgets. Everything from the lowest two-way radio to the most sophisticated early warning radar system requires at least some transistors.
News recently broke about the possibility of using ballistic technology to neutralize orbital threats if defense planners ever saw the need. Tracking objects above the line dividing the upper layer of the atmosphere from actual space is difficult and requires the application of a multitude of computing devices. Each of these would incorporate multiple graphics processing units, which implement a great deal of semiconductor hardware into their designs. Automatic spaceplane technology has historically relied on similar adaptations. These use onboard computers to perform detailed calculations in order to discover the right time to fire a particular rocket. As the industry moves in this direction, such equipment will likely become even more important than it is today.
Engineers have encouraged manufacturers to invest in specialized semiconductor solutions that are geared toward their specific use cases. Vehicle and automotive technologists need specialized chips that can work in their sectors. Those who design aircraft components might have a completely different set of requirements. Due to the sheer size of the armed services, all of these requirements necessarily intersect with defense planning. Anyone who plans to build equipment that will be consumed by military agencies has to incorporate the right kind of digital gear into it.
Hardening is a big deal in that respect because there’s always the possibility that defense equipment could get exposed to severe situations that would literally melt circuit boards. When a new type of military satellite got launched, it had to include a special transparent digital processor that was capable of withstanding the kind of electromagnetic pulses that would come about as the result of an atomic detention. Semiconductor manufacturers were able to comply with these requests as well as ones for special antennas that could hold up to outside jamming signals.
At one point, defense planners actually preferred to continue to use vacuum tubes in place of solid-state electronics because they could withstand these pulses better. Unfortunately, they could potentially leak data which is why some early defense industry-focused personal computers had to comply with a set of special regulations that spelled out how individual computers had to work. That’s why you saw desktop machines completely gutted. Technicians would replace their insides with higher-grade semiconductor boards capable of dealing with the rigors of a military environment.
To some extent, the direction the industry takes is up to those with the political power to make decisions. Engineering teams will be designing increasingly sophisticated solutions no matter what they decide to do, thus making this an exciting area to watch. Semiconductors have played an important role in defense technology in the past and will continue to do for years to come.