Micron Technology in Manassas is playing a role in the military’s operation.
Congressman Rob Wittman provided details about the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at a Government Contracting Workshop.
The meeting was held at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters in Manassas on Friday.
Congress must pass the NDAA, a defense spending plan, every year.
As part of the legislation, the Department of Defense (DoD) is required to create a plan for limiting another country’s access to technology.
Officials would make limitations through various transactions, including contracts and grants, when it relates to United States security.
“We’ve had this discussion extensively,” Wittman said. “What we’re starting to see right now is, actually, supply chain is starting to reflect the critical nature of U.S. sourcing and security that comes with that.”
One example Wittman used is Micron, which announced its plan to expand in August.
The company will be building semiconductors for the United States military.
“It never made sense to me that we’re sourcing semiconductors from Chinese companies that are our adversaries,” Wittman said.
Using devices made in America can prevent other countries from using technology to gain insight.
Technology experts control how hardware functions.
A chip, Wittman explained, may work during a combat exercise. However, a “fault” implanted in the equipment could change its behavior when its in a different Area of Operation (AOR).
“So, you really have to look deeply within what our adversaries are doing, and they are creative and innovative with what they do to try to exploit an advantage there, tactically and strategically,” Wittman said.