Intel says its RAMP-C program has completed its work to establish a U.S.-based ecosystem for designing and prototyping assured advanced chips, while Intel 18A entered high-volume production in 2025. Those milestones are not proof that a named defense chip is already being manufactured at scale: Intel has not identified a specific operational defense product in production through the program.
What Intel’s RAMP-C program set out to do
RAMP-C—Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes–Commercial—was designed to connect the U.S. Department of Defense with a domestic commercial foundry ecosystem for assured, leading-edge circuits. Intel announced that it had been selected to lead the program’s first phase on August 23, 2021, framing the effort around technology needed for critical DoD systems and commercial products. Intel’s 2021 announcement
The goal was broader than reserving wafer capacity. Advanced chips require design tools, validated process information, reusable intellectual property (IP), engineering support, and ways to integrate multiple dies. Intel describes RAMP-C as an effort to build those capabilities around a U.S.-based foundry, then move toward customer prototypes and production readiness.
RAMP-C’s timeline and reported outcome
| Milestone | What Intel reported |
|---|---|
| August 2021 | Intel was selected to lead the program’s first phase, intended to build a commercial U.S. foundry route for assured advanced circuits. Intel |
| 2023 | Boeing and Northrop Grumman joined the second phase; Intel also listed Nvidia, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and IBM as RAMP-C customers or participants, and Cadence and Synopsys as ecosystem partners. Intel |
| 2024 | Intel said the DoD selected Intel Foundry for Phase Three. The company described earlier work on technology and yield plans, IP, ecosystem tools, and preparation for test-chip tapeouts. Intel |
| July 28, 2026 | Intel announced RAMP-C completion, describing progress from ecosystem enablement to validated prototypes and early customer engagement. Intel |
Intel’s completion announcement quotes Eric Makara, Program Manager for Microelectronics, OUSW(R&E), describing the collaboration as having produced “a critical state-of-the-art, leading-edge domestic semiconductor technology and design enablement infrastructure.” That is a statement included in Intel’s announcement, not an independent government evaluation.
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What the ecosystem includes beyond chip fabrication
A foundry ecosystem has to help customers get from a circuit idea to a manufacturable design. Intel’s aerospace, defense, and government platform brief describes several connected layers, rather than only wafer production. Intel’s platform brief
- Design enablement: Electronic design automation (EDA) tools and secure design flows help engineers create and verify chip designs for a particular manufacturing process.
- Process design kits and IP: Process design kits give designers process-specific information and rules; IP blocks provide reusable circuit functions.
- Design services and partner support: Specialist companies help customers adapt, verify, and prepare designs for fabrication.
- Prototypes and fabrication: Test chips and prototypes can help validate a design and process before a product is ready for volume manufacture.
- Advanced packaging and chiplets: Packaging can combine multiple dies into one system. Intel describes its SHIP program as applying advanced packaging to integrate chiplets.
Intel calls its United States Military, Aerospace and Government effort the USMAG Alliance. It describes the alliance as an end-to-end design-enablement initiative involving EDA tools, secure flows, process design kits, IP blocks, and partner support. Intel’s February 2026 brief says USMAG brings together more than 30 EDA, IP, and design partners. This figure describes the alliance roster, not the number of defense chips or deployed systems.
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Which companies Intel associates with RAMP-C
Intel’s 2023 announcement named companies in different roles. The distinction matters: being named as a customer, participant, or ecosystem partner does not establish that a company has a defense chip in production on Intel’s process.
| Role Intel described | Companies Intel named |
|---|---|
| RAMP-C customers or participants in Intel’s 2023 account | Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and IBM |
| Ecosystem partners in Intel’s 2023 account | Cadence and Synopsys |
| Companies shown in Intel’s broader 2026 alliance ecosystem illustration | Ansys and Siemens, among other companies |
The first two categories come from Intel’s 2023 RAMP-C announcement; the broader alliance illustration appears in Intel’s 2026 platform brief. These lists indicate participation in or support for the ecosystem, not confirmed production deliveries to a particular military program.
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Does this mean defense chips are already being made on Intel 18A?
Not on the evidence Intel has published in the cited materials. Intel’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K says the company ramped 18A into high-volume production during 2025 and was seeking to establish it as a significant node for government and enterprise foundry customers. The filing also discusses investment in external-customer enablement, including EDA tools, process design kits, and foundation IP. Intel’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K
These facts establish Intel’s reported manufacturing ramp and commercial strategy; they do not identify a defense customer’s 18A design as qualified or in volume production. Keep three stages separate:
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- Design enablement: tools, process information, IP, and partner support are available to help customers prepare designs.
- Prototype validation: test chips or prototypes are fabricated and evaluated. Intel says RAMP-C reached validated prototypes and early customer engagement.
- Operational product production: a specified defense chip is qualified and made at scale for a named program. The cited announcements and filing do not establish such a deployment.
How RAMP-C relates to Secure Enclave
Intel says Secure Enclave builds on capabilities established through RAMP-C and SHIP to expand trusted manufacturing for government use. In Intel’s description, RAMP-C developed design and ecosystem capabilities, while SHIP addresses advanced packaging and chiplet integration. Secure Enclave is presented as a trusted-manufacturing initiative that builds on this foundation. Intel’s RAMP-C completion announcement
This is a stated direction for the handoff, not a promise that RAMP-C guarantees a classified program, a particular chip deployment, or a delivery date. The cited materials do not name a production defense chip or provide an independent DoD assessment of RAMP-C’s outcomes.
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