Jamie Bennet
The Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Battelle a $49.1 million contract to study existing and future microelectronic systems that may be reverse-engineered by U.S. adversaries.
Battelle will carry out applied research and development work as part of the Microelectronics Security and Embedded System Assurance program, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
The Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit company will aim to create operational systems and explore chip integrity approaches.
The goal of the project is to determine the potential of chip-package interaction to be exploited through non-invasive, semi-invasive, and invasive reverse engineering.
Battelle will perform the services at Wright-Patterson AF Base in Ohio and is expected to finish the work by March 22, 2028.
AFRL received two offers for the project and allocated a $350,000 initial funding obligation on the award.
The laboratory issued in October a similar award to Riverside Research valued at $49.4 million to continue R&D efforts as part of the MESA program.
