Trusted supplier (DMEA-accredited)
Beginner
A company the military has inspected and approved to handle one step in making secret chips.
Novice
A company approved by DMEA to handle one step of making a sensitive chip: design, brokering, making the photomasks, manufacturing the silicon, packaging or testing.
Expert
Accreditation covers the people and processes for a specific service (design, aggregation, brokering, mask making, foundry, post-processing, packaging/assembly, test). DoD Instruction 5200.44 requires custom or tailored ICs for a military end use in applicable systems to be procured from accredited suppliers.