Intel says its U.S.-based foundry ecosystem for defense-related chips has moved from design enablement toward validated prototypes and early customer engagement. The effort, called RAMP-C, brought together chip designers, defense contractors, software and IP providers, and manufacturing capabilities. Intel announced the program’s completion in July 2026, but its public materials do not identify a specific defense chip that has entered production.
What RAMP-C is—and what Intel says it accomplished
RAMP-C, short for Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes – Commercial, is a multi-phase effort to build a domestic commercial foundry ecosystem for assured advanced circuits. Intel announced on August 23, 2021, that it had been selected to lead the first phase, describing the program as a way to use U.S.-based commercial manufacturing for leading-edge circuits and commercial products needed by critical Defense Department systems. Intel’s 2021 announcement introduced that goal.
Intel reported its selection for Phase Three in 2024. At the time, the company described earlier work as establishing technology and yield plans, developing intellectual property and ecosystem tools, and preparing customers for test-chip tapeouts. Intel’s Phase Three announcement is a company account of the program’s progress.
On July 28, 2026, Intel announced RAMP-C’s completion. It said the effort advanced from ecosystem enablement to validated prototypes and early customer engagement, creating a route toward production readiness. Those claims describe capabilities and stages of work; they do not establish that a named defense product was manufactured at scale or deployed. Intel’s completion announcement also says the Secure Enclave initiative builds on RAMP-C and the SHIP program.
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Which companies and capabilities are involved?
The ecosystem extends beyond wafer fabrication. Intel describes a set of capabilities spanning design tools and support, IP, prototype fabrication, advanced packaging, chiplet integration, and manufacturing. In a February 2026 platform brief, Intel presented RAMP-C as a route to access leading-edge technology such as Intel 18A, SHIP as a way to integrate chiplets using advanced packaging, and Secure Enclave as a trusted manufacturing initiative. Intel’s aerospace, defense and government platform brief outlines those roles.
Intel’s 2023 RAMP-C roster named Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Microsoft, and IBM as customers or participants. Intel identified Cadence and Synopsys as ecosystem partners. The company’s 2023 announcement does not mean every organization on the roster designed or produced a defense chip through the program.
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Design enablement and tools
Intel describes its USMAG Alliance—United States Military, Aerospace and Government—as an end-to-end design-enablement effort. Its stated scope includes electronic design automation (EDA) tools and secure design flows, process design kits (PDKs), IP blocks, and partner support. Intel’s February 2026 brief says the alliance brings together more than 30 EDA, IP, and design partners. The same ecosystem illustration includes companies such as Ansys and Siemens. These are Intel’s descriptions of the alliance, not a list of defense products in production. Intel’s platform brief and its USMAG Alliance overview provide the company’s descriptions.
Packaging and chiplet integration
Advanced packaging matters because a system can combine multiple chiplets rather than relying on one monolithic die. Intel says SHIP applies advanced packaging to integrate chiplets, complementing the design and fabrication work associated with RAMP-C. That makes the ecosystem broader than a single process node or fab, though Intel’s public description does not identify a particular operational defense system built through this path.
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Are defense chips already being made on Intel 18A?
Intel’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K says the company ramped 18A into high-volume production during 2025 and was seeking to establish the process as a significant node for government and enterprise foundry customers. The filing also discusses investment in external-customer enablement, including EDA tools, PDKs, and foundation IP. Intel’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K supports the claim that 18A entered a company-reported production ramp; it does not show that a specific defense customer has a qualified chip in volume production.
Three stages should not be conflated:
- Design and ecosystem enablement: Tools, IP, secure flows, and partner support that help customers develop designs.
- Prototype or test-chip work: Fabrication and validation steps that can demonstrate a design or process without proving operational deployment.
- Production of a specified defense product: A named chip qualified and manufactured for a particular program. Intel’s public announcements and filing cited here do not identify such a product.
How RAMP-C connects 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 account, RAMP-C helped develop the design and ecosystem foundation, while Secure Enclave is the next initiative aimed at secure, scaled government manufacturing. The announcement describes a handoff in capability, not a guarantee of a classified program, chip deployment, or delivery date.
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Intel’s July 2026 announcement quotes Eric Makara, Program Manager for Microelectronics, OUSW(R&E), as saying: “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.” This is a statement in Intel’s announcement, rather than an independent program evaluation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the public record establishes
The strongest public evidence here comes from Intel’s own program announcements and platform materials, alongside the company’s SEC filing. They establish what Intel says the program built, which partners it publicly associated with the effort, and when Intel says 18A ramped into high-volume production. They do not independently verify program outcomes or name a defense chip produced at scale for a specific customer. The distinction matters: a stronger domestic design-and-manufacturing ecosystem can support future defense work without proving that a particular system is already using it.
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