GlobalFoundries and Qualinx completed the first fully European-based, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow at GF’s Dresden fab, marking a step toward trusted chip production for aerospace, defense, critical infrastructure, IoT and consumer electronics.
The flow uses GF’s FDX technology and keeps the production chain within Europe, from design intake and mask services through wafer manufacturing. GF said no sensitive design data or physical materials leave Europe, aligning the process with requirements from European governments, defense agencies, system integrators and critical infrastructure operators.
Qualinx served as the launch customer with its QLX3xx GNSS SoC design for secure Positioning, Navigation and Timing applications. The chip targets sovereign GNSS-based PNT systems, including resilient timing and synchronization networks and ultra-low-power GNSS receivers for connected edge devices.
• GF’s Dresden fab completed the European sovereign manufacturing flow using its FDX technology.
• Qualinx used the flow for a GNSS SoC targeting secure PNT applications.
• The process consolidates mask services and wafer manufacturing inside the EU.
• GF aims to establish a fully automated trusted European flow in Dresden by the end of 2026.
• Starting in 2027, GF expects aerospace, defense and critical infrastructure customers to access the automated flow through regular foundry engagements.
• GF is also working with Deutsche Telekom to assess secure European data processing, transport and storage across the semiconductor value chain.
“We are demonstrating that Europe can rely on a secure, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow that meets the highest requirements of aerospace and defense,” said Dr. Manfred Horstmann, Senior Vice President and General Manager at GlobalFoundries. “Our partnership with Qualinx marks the first operational milestone: it shows that complex, security-relevant ASIC designs for aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure can already be industrialized today using a fully European, trusted manufacturing path.”
🌐 Analysis: The GF-Qualinx milestone links semiconductor sovereignty directly to operational foundry workflows rather than policy goals alone. For Europe, the key technical point is not only local wafer production, but the controlled handling of design data, mask services and manufacturing steps for chips used in defense, timing, synchronization and critical infrastructure.
GF’s Dresden fab remains central to the company’s European strategy, while GF’s broader roadmap also includes silicon photonics, advanced packaging and specialty process technologies for AI, automotive, communications and defense markets. The Qualinx tape-out gives GF a reference customer for extending its sovereign manufacturing model to other European system makers and infrastructure operators.
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