Intel Emerges as America’s Only Leading-Edge Chipmaker as RAMP-C Hands the Department of War Domestic 18A Production

Intel has completed its RAMP-C program, which now aims to enable customers to move from test chips to domestic high-volume manufacturing.

Intel RAMP-C Leads To Successful Development of a Strong "Design Enablement Infrastructure" Which Enables Commercial & Defense Customers To Design & Fabricate Chips Within the US

Press Release: Intel Foundry has completed the Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes - Commercial (RAMP-C) program. Launched in September 2021, the program supported development of domestic, leading-edge CMOS technology and manufacturing in the United States, establishing a foundation for expanded trusted domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

“The collaboration between the DoW and Intel on the Trusted & Assured Microelectronics RAMP-C program has led to the successful development of a critical state-of-the-art, leading-edge domestic semiconductor technology and design enablement infrastructure,” said Eric Makara, Program Manager for Microelectronics, OUSW(R&E). “It enables commercial companies and the defense industrial base to design and fabricate trusted microelectronics on shore to improve our warfighting capabilities.”

Since its launch in October 2021, RAMP-C has delivered measurable progress across its three phases:

• Foundation Building: Developed leading-edge technology, IP and design tools, preparing commercial and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) customers for test chip tapeouts.
• Expansion and Onboarding: Onboarded early commercial and DIB customers and expanded IP and ecosystem solutions for Intel 18A designs.
• Advanced Prototyping and Manufacturing: Intel supported the tape-out and testing of early DIB product prototypes. This phase demonstrates readiness for secure, scaled manufacturing and positions customers to leverage Secure Enclave for ongoing deployment.

Why It’s Important: As the only U.S. company that researches, develops and manufactures leading-edge semiconductor technology, Intel plays a critical role in U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. By working together on RAMP-C, Intel Foundry and the U.S. Department of War (DoW) have accelerated technology development and created a repeatable pathway from design enablement to production readiness for advanced microelectronics. Moreover, Intel Foundry’s ramp to high volume Intel 18A fabrication enables scalable, trusted manufacturing, helping rebalance the global supply chain with a trusted source of advanced microelectronics.

Building on the capabilities established through RAMP-C, Secure Enclave expands trusted manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductors for the U.S. government, enabling secure, at-scale production. Secure Enclave also builds on the State-of-the-art Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging (SHIP) program, reflecting continued collaboration with the U.S. DoW to strengthen domestic semiconductor capabilities.

What It Means: RAMP-C has progressed from ecosystem enablement to validated prototypes, positioning customers to leverage Secure Enclave for secure, high-volume manufacturing.

These U.S.-led programs create a model of cooperation that allied governments and international partners could adopt to help ensure resilient supply chains. Through RAMP-C, Intel Foundry enabled customers and ecosystem partners to accelerate development and move from prototype to production readiness using Intel 18A, which introduces RibbonFET and PowerVia to improve performance per-watt and density. Early access to Intel 18A has positioned DIB customers to leverage Secure Enclave while meeting critical size, weight, and power requirements

The result is the ability to develop and deploy advanced microelectronics for mission-critical systems without compromising security or supply chain resilience.

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