Jane Edwards
Northrop Grumman and its partner RFID Global Solution will showcase at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-hosted Demo Day a miniaturized chip and software designed to detect counterfeit electronic components.
RFID Global said Tuesday it developed the Visi-Trac software application in support of a $12.3 million contract that Northrop received from DARPA in 2015 for the agency’s Supply Chain Hardware Integrity for Electronics Defense program.
DARPA’s SHIELD initiative aims to develop and deploy a platform that works to authenticate and prevent the entry of fake electronic parts into the defense supply chain through the use of technological advancements in 14-nanometer integrated circuits.
In addition to Visi-Trac, the SHIELD platform also consists of a Northrop-built dielet or miniaturized chip.
DARPA intends to bring the supply chain authentication technologies from the program to the commercial market by 2019.
The Demo Day will be held at the Pentagon on May 11.
