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A January 2020 report said U.S. officials had pressed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to make chips used in U.S. military hardware in the United States, or to offer another security-compatible arrangement. The reporting linked TSMC chips to F-35 components through supplier Xilinx, but did not identify any specific chip or aircraft subsystem. It also did not establish that Washington had issued a public order.
Does TSMC make chips used in the F-35?
Contemporaneous reporting said it did. On January 15, 2020, Nikkei Asian Review reported that TSMC supplied high-performance chips to Xilinx, which made components for F-35 aircraft and satellites. HotHardware covered the report the following day, describing TSMC as a chip supplier connected to the Lockheed Martin fighter program.
This is a reported supply-chain relationship, not a published F-35 bill of materials. The reports do not name the chip models, production nodes, quantities, or the F-35 subsystems in which the chips were used. They therefore support a qualified account of a TSMC-to-Xilinx-to-F-35 connection, not a claim that TSMC made a specified chip installed in a particular aircraft system.
Why did the U.S. want military-use chips made in America?
The reported concern was the security and location of the defense supply chain. Nikkei’s account said U.S. officials wanted chips intended for military use to be fabricated on U.S. soil to reduce concerns about potential interference. The account relied in part on unnamed officials; it is evidence of reported pressure, not public confirmation of a formal government directive.
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The options described were to manufacture sensitive military-use chips in the United States or provide another arrangement considered compatible with security requirements. The reports do not show that either option was implemented. Nikkei also quoted Su Tze-yun, director of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, saying: “We’ve noticed that many U.S. tech executives and government officials are concerned about their country’s dependence on TSMC and the security of their defense industry’s supply chains.”
Nikkei’s January 2020 article put TSMC at 50% of the world’s chip foundry business. That was a broad, historical market-share figure, not a measurement of TSMC’s share of F-35 chips and not a current market estimate.
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Did TSMC agree to build a U.S. fab?
Not according to the company’s response quoted in January 2020. TSMC said: “We have never ruled out building or acquiring a fab [semiconductor fabrication plant] in the United States, but currently there is no concrete plan.” Tom’s Hardware reproduced that statement in its January 15 coverage of the pressure report.
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The statement describes TSMC’s position at that time. It is not evidence of the company’s current fab plans, nor does it establish that the company agreed to build a U.S. facility in response to the reported request.
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Which F-35 components use TSMC chips?
The public accounts cited here do not say. They connect TSMC’s chips to Xilinx and Xilinx components to F-35 aircraft and satellites, but provide no part numbers or subsystem-level detail. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program page describes the aircraft, but does not substantiate the chip-specific sourcing claim.
What does broader F-35 supply-chain visibility mean?
A 2022 Department of Defense article about the Defense Logistics Agency described efforts to improve government visibility into F-35 parts distribution and support. That is useful context for the general challenge of tracking a complex aircraft supply chain. It concerns parts and sustainment, however, and does not independently verify the 2020 claim about TSMC chips.
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- Tools, glue and paints are not included with the plastic kit. These must be purchased optionally.
Is the U.S. pressure still happening?
The sources cited here do not establish what happened to the specific request after the January 2020 reports. They do not show whether the request remained active, was withdrawn, or was met through a particular arrangement. It would be misleading to present the reported pressure as a confirmed current policy.
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