CAD for Military Systems, An Essential Link to LSI, VLSI and VHSIC Technology

Government involvement in the development of computer aided design (CAD) tools for electronic circuits has a long history. The advent of large scale integrated (LSI) circuits, going into the 1970's, pulsed the development of the "standard cell" and "gate array" design methodologies and supporting CAD. Despite these burgeoning technologies, little custom LSI technology found its way into military systems. Custom LSI was considered too costly and risky. Moving into the 1980's we find a vastly different Picture. DoD is closing the gap between fielded equipment and the use of advanced IC technology through the VHSIC and other VLSI technology insertion programs. The significance of this, is that CAD has become a critical technology and, as a result, is receiving considerable government funding.