Electronic circuits and components are the often unseen elements that make a digital world work.
That extends to United States military equipment repaired at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County.
"We're transitioning from an industrial based military to one that is digitally driven, information dominant and has a strong focus on technology and innovation,” said Major Gen. James D. Turinetti IV, commanding general of the United States Army Communications-Electronics Command.
The depot now houses the first microelectronics lab in the Army Organic Industrial Base, which includes 23 facilities across the country. Army, depot and local representatives cut a ribbon to officially open it Thursday.
"This microelectronics facility is not just a big step for our command, it is a huge step for ... the defense of our nation as a whole,” Turinetti said.
'More capability' in the U.S.
Mark Sgobba, the facility's lead engineer, said electronic circuits permeate everything the military uses in the field.
"There's an effort over the next 10 to 15 years to try to bring … more of that capability here to the U.S. in case of war and it's desperately needed," he said.
The facility gives Tobyhanna capabilities previously only available overseas, Sgobba said.
During a tour, one of the seven lab engineers held up a bare green plastic rectangle the size of an index card. Tobyhanna doesn't manufacture the cards because it would need millions of dollars and a foundry for that. The new facility allows Tobyhanna to put the cards, filled with copper layers, through machines that populate the plastic with tiny electronic parts, creating the circuit cards that make larger electronics work.
Sgobba said engineers repair, manufacture and test the cards, including for equipment that’s no longer made.
Army can now sustain, adapt and integrate
The COVID-19 pandemic shortened supplies of almost everything — toilet paper, food and circuit cards. The global chip shortage led to delays across industries. In 2021, Gen. Edward Daly, then the leader of the Army Materiel Command, directed the Army to create a capability for microelectronics, said Liz Miranda, the command's executive deputy to the commanding general.
Before, the military relied on what Miranda described as an “increasingly fragile supply chain for these essential components.”
"This facility is a direct investment in army modernization, enabling us to not only sustain our legacy systems, but to rapidly adapt and integrate cutting edge technologies into future platforms," Miranda said. "The ability to repair, manufacture, test and inspect microelectronics, circuit card assemblies right here on shore, within the Army's control is a game changer."
To compete with adversaries, the military had to look at its own gaps, Turinetti said.
"Before this facility was established, DOD [Department of Defense] and industry identified critical shortfalls in microelectronics capabilities. These deficiencies resulted in dependence on foreign based suppliers, increasing the risk of counterfeits and critical supply chain risk management,” Turinetti said.
As of today, the lab has produced more than 3,100 circuit card assemblies.
"Tobyhanna has repeatedly demonstrated their value to the Army and is leading the way in innovation," he said.
