Tobyhanna’s microelectronics mission making big contributions to readiness

It has been just over a year since Tobyhanna Army Depot cut the ribbon on its Microelectronics Manufacturing Facility. In the year since, demand has only grown due to the precision and efficiency displayed by the civilian workforce of Team Tobyhanna. This heightened demand combined with the evolving needs of our nation’s warfighters means an expansion for the mission may be on the horizon.

Although Tobyhanna’s microelectronics capability existed long before the ribbon cutting, this facility has greatly expanded depot artisans’ ability to develop repair, manufacturing and testing capabilities for circuit cards required by complex military weapons systems.

Potential customers from both the public and private sectors have noticed.

Tobyhanna Army Depot Senior Electronics Engineer Mark Sgobba said he can’t recall a week since the ribbon cutting that someone hasn’t been touring the facility. Sgobba has been involved with Tobyhanna’s microelectronics mission since its inception in 2019 and saw the potential from the start.

“I knew this mission would get to this point eventually,” said Sgobba. “It was slow at first, but once it caught on, it really did. Once we were successful in producing the first set of prototype circuit card assemblies for the M139 Volcano Mine Dispensing System, I knew it was going to continue to grow and expand.”

And it certainly has. In the year since the ribbon cutting, the team working on the microelectronics mission has performed numerous cost estimates and worked extensively on legacy Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) radio circuit cards.

The Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System initiative is the latest in a long line of microelectronics efforts Tobyhanna has supported including the AN/TPQ-53, Secure, Mobile, Anti-Jam, Reliable, Tactical Terminal (SMART-T), and more.

For the latest SINCGARS initiative, Tobyhanna artisans developed and performed Highly Accelerated Life Testing/Highly Accelerated Stress Screening (HALT/HASS) to ensure the reliability of the low-rate initial production run of QTY-60, SINCGARS circuit cards.

This is the latest example of how investment into a Microelectronics Manufacturing Facility will produce circuit cards more efficiently and cost effectively.

As capabilities evolve and workload from several branches of America’s armed forces arrives at Tobyhanna, facilities are evolving to meet that demand. Tobyhanna’s Engineering, Analysis, and Solutions Lab, which houses the Microelectronics Manufacturing Facility, is being upgraded. A production facility is also planned. These advancements will create additional capacity and capability to meet growing demand.

The configuration of these two facilities will mirror one another so that the engineering work done in the Engineering, Analysis, and Solutions Lab will translate seamlessly to production. The equipment in both facilities will be on the Army’s Industrial Control Network.

Sgobba said these expansions are a direct result of the exceptional work of Team Tobyhanna.

“It’s amazing to see the confidence being placed in our work. We’ve demonstrated our success in this capability and because of that, this is growing exponentially.”

Tobyhanna Army Depot Director of Engineering & Cyber Nick Caprioli echoed Sgobba’s sentiments, saying Tobyhanna will continue to build on this positive momentum.

“Building on its demonstrated success, Tobyhanna's microelectronics mission is poised for exponential growth. Planned expansions will create additional capacity and new capabilities, ensuring the depot can meet the evolving and complex needs of our nation's warfighters,” said Caprioli.

Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) is designated as the Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), electronics, avionics, and missile guidance and control. TYAD provides cradle-to-grave lifecycle support through depot-level repair, systems integration, software and cyber engineering, and field support. A key enabler of operational readiness for Joint and Allied Forces globally, TYAD leverages new and emerging technologies to further expand the Department of War’s organic capabilities for microelectronics, secure communications infrastructure, uncrewed aircraft systems, Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), and the Army’s Next Generation Combat Systems (NGC2). TYAD’s ability to rapidly surge production, deploy field support teams, and scale for contingency or theater-level operations makes it a vital contributor to strategic readiness and operational reach.