WASHINGTON – The US Defense Department is allocating another round of funding to a research effort for lead-free electronics in high-performance defense areas.

The US Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) is the recipient of a $8.9 million award from the DoD Office of Industrial Policy’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program to grow the Defense Electronics Consortium and expand its work on the Lead-Free Defense Electronics Project.

The project is led by Purdue University, the University of Maryland, and Auburn University. Participants include Binghamton University, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing, Plexus, and others.

“This award enables us to continue our work to support the defense electronics ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of lead-free electronics, just as the commercial market has done,” said Christopher Peters, executive director of USPAE.

The project’s goal is to develop scientific evidence that can help accelerate the adoption of lead-free electronics in aerospace, defense, and other high-performance sectors. Specifically, the team will develop data-driven solder-performance specifications for lead-free solutions in defense systems. The outcome will be a road map to help engineers and buyers better understand when lead-free electronics can and cannot be used in high-performance applications.

The benefits to the DoD will include reduced supply-chain risks, faster delivery times, and a greater ability to leverage lead-free commercial technologies. The project is also projected to yield more than $100 million in US defense savings per year.

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