New Delhi, India

The US Space Force will assist India in setting up its first-ever semiconductor fabrication plant aimed at enhancing national security. The key details on the Fab Plant came after a bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Delaware this weekend. 

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Both leaders lauded the establishment of the semiconductor facility, calling it a "watershed moment" for India-US cooperation, according to a joint fact sheet released after the meeting. The plant will focus on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics critical to national security.

The semiconductor fabrication plant will manufacture cutting-edge Infrared, Gallium Nitride, and Silicon Carbide semiconductors and is a technology partnership between Indian companies Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force, with support from the India Semiconductor Mission.

Also read: AI also means American-Indian spirit. It’s the new ‘AI’ power of the world: PM Modi in US

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The US Space Force, established in 2019, plays an important role in space warfare, missile defence, satellite operations, and space launches. The initiative is seen as a landmark achievement, on par with the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal of 2008.

Co-founder & Managing Director of 3rdiTech Vinayak Dalmia told WION, "This is a glass ceiling broken in tech diplomacy and years down the road will go down in history books as a watershed moment in India-US relationships. After this technology partnership, India will join a handful of elite nations with the capability and knowhow to manufacture these types of semiconductors onshore"

The semiconductor fabrication plant, to be established in Jewar, will be the world’s first multi-chip military fab. Focus will not be just on India's national security needs, but also exports to Quad nations, Indo-Pacific countries, and African markets.

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The collaboration between Indian companies and the US Space Force was initially announced during Prime Minister Modi's State Visit to the US in June 2023. More details emerged during the iCET review in Delhi in June 2024, with the formal announcement of plans to jointly build the fab made at the weekend bilateral meet in Delaware.

COO & Co-Founder, of 3rdiTech, Vrinda Kapoor explained, "Bharat Semi and 3rdiTech will become India’s first homegrown integrated design manufacturer (IDM). The name Bharat brings with it the hope that this will grow into an institution, a deep technology behemoth at the global stage, a strategic asset that India can be proud of."

The semiconductor fabrication plant will focus on three critical pillars of modern warfare- advanced sensing, advanced communications, and high-voltage power electronics. In addition to defence and national security applications, the plant will serve commercial sectors such as railways, telecom infrastructure, data centres, and green energy.

This facility will be seen as a national asset, further advancing India’s ambitions to become a net security provider in the region. India currently imports semiconductors worth USD 1 billion annually for national security purposes alone.

In addition to this announcement, US semiconductor giant GlobalFoundries will play a key role in establishing the GF Kolkata Power Center, which will contribute to sustainable semiconductor supply chains.