Northrop Grumman has developed a new gallium nitride (GaN) microwave chip that operates in the W-band spectrum, a high-frequency range used for advanced radar, satellite communications, and emerging wireless networks.

The company said the chip was designed, manufactured, and made market-ready in less than six months, an unusually short timeline for a high-frequency semiconductor intended for defense and commercial applications.

Built at Northrop Grumman’s semiconductor facility in Redondo Beach, California, the chip is designed to strengthen wireless signals while operating at frequencies capable of transmitting large amounts of data with low latency.

According to the company, the technology could support secure military communications, next-generation radar systems, satellite links, and future 5G and 6G wireless networks.

Faster signals, smaller hardware

The W-band occupies frequencies between roughly 75 and 110 gigahertz, offering significantly more bandwidth than lower-frequency wireless systems. The added spectrum can help enable faster data transmission, higher-resolution sensing, and more secure communications.

W-band technologies are attracting growing interest because they can handle far larger amounts of data than many conventional wireless systems. The frequencies are increasingly being explored for applications ranging from high-resolution imaging and advanced sensing to satellite communications and future mobile networks.

However, operating at such high frequencies requires specialized semiconductor materials and designs capable of maintaining performance while managing power and heat, areas where GaN-based devices have gained increasing attention.

Northrop Grumman said the new chip fully utilizes this portion of the radio spectrum to improve signal performance while reducing the need for larger and more power-intensive equipment.

Gallium nitride has become a key material for advanced radio-frequency electronics because it can operate at higher power levels and frequencies than conventional silicon-based devices. The material is already widely used in military radars, electronic warfare systems, and satellite communications hardware.

The company said the chip can act as a signal amplifier, helping wireless systems transmit and receive data more efficiently. In military applications, that could improve secure communications and data transfer between platforms and satellites. Commercially, the technology could help support future wireless networks as demand for higher data rates continues to grow.

Defense To 6G

The project was developed through the California DREAMS hub of the Microelectronics Commons program, a public-private initiative aimed at accelerating domestic semiconductor innovation.

The program is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and brings together industry, government, and academic partners to speed the development of advanced microelectronics technologies.

Northrop Grumman said the rapid development cycle demonstrates how collaborative manufacturing and design efforts can shorten the path from concept to deployment.

The company manufactures microelectronics at two US-based facilities and produces millions of semiconductor components annually for defense and commercial customers. Its Microelectronics Center has been involved in semiconductor development for more than seven decades.

As governments and industries seek faster communications, more capable radar systems, and advanced sensing technologies, high-frequency GaN devices are expected to play an increasingly important role in future wireless infrastructure.

💾

Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket occurred at 8:27 a.m. ET, just over an hour before SpaceX went public on the NASDAQ stock market.

If you're thinking about upgrading your phone, "the best time was yesterday," according to Nothing CEO and co-founder Carl Pei, echoing a message we heard during MWC. As Android Authority reports, Pei said in a post on X that the RAM shortage has already impacted Nothing's less expensive mid-range phone: "For Phone 4A , memory costs doubled between when we decided to build the device and when it launched. They've doubled again since." He warned that "Phone prices are going up, and they'll keep going up into next year."

Pei says RAM can now account for over 50 percent of the cost of a new phone. Nothing's just the latest phone maker to warn …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Apple TV horror comedy hasn't even finished airing its first season, but it's one of the most-nominated shows at the 2026 Television Critics Association Awards.

💾

A senior Android security leader is leaving Google after criticizing its Pentagon AI work, environmental commitments, and internal transparency.

VJOSA-NARTA, Albania — In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania’s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline. The incursion was the realization of a luxury resort development backed by Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The development plans of Kushner’s Affinity Partners, a private equity fund, stretch from the uninhabited Sazan Island into the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, the delta region of Albania’s Vjosa River that includes Pishë Poro-Narta. Roughly twice the size of Paris, the Vjosa-Narta area shelters flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and more than 70 endangered species, among them the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Neither Affinity Partners nor the office of the prime minister of Albania responded to Mongabay’s requests for comment. Aerial drone video of demonstrators gathering at Dalan Beach on June 6 for a rally near the site of the original resort-construction site. Footage by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.   When protesters arrived at the site, security guards confronted them. Video of a demonstrator being dragged across the dunes on May 30 near the village of Zvërnec went viral. Soon demonstrations erupted in Tirana, the Albanian capital, in what has since been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution. The protests have grown larger every day, with tens of thousands demanding accountability for corruption, an end to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Some Robinhood users looking to cash in on the SpaceX IPO were met with technical issues.

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss our Rivian R2 first drive, BYD going nuts on flash charging, Donut Lab’s miracle battery being seemingly dead, and more.

Ukrainian long-range strike drones are causing major issues to Russia. While the Kremlin is not willing to admit

Qcells has begun manufacturing solar cells at its new facility in Cartersville, Georgia, bringing the company closer to operating what it says is the United States’ first and only fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing factory.

The company announced that the plant is now producing solar cells and expects all production lines to reach full capacity by the third quarter of 2026. Once fully operational, the facility will manufacture ingots, wafers, cells, and solar modules under one roof.

The start of cell production marks a significant milestone for domestic solar manufacturing, as most solar panels installed in the US still rely on imported components. Qcells said the Cartersville site will become the largest operating solar cell factory in US history.

Module assembly operations at the facility are already running at full capacity, producing about 16,700 solar panels every day.

Building domestic supply chains

When fully ramped up, the Cartersville factory will produce 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of annual capacity each for ingots, wafers, and cells, along with 3.5 GW of solar modules.

Combined with Qcells’ expanded manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia, the company’s total US module production capacity is expected to reach 8.6 GW annually by the end of the third quarter. According to the company, that output is enough to generate the equivalent annual electricity needs of roughly 1.3 million American homes.

“Producing the first solar cells at Cartersville is a milestone for Qcells and for American manufacturing,” said Andy Park, Global CEO of Qcells.

The company said producing key solar components domestically could provide customers with greater certainty around supply availability, pricing, and potential tariff-related disruptions.

Tax credits and jobs

Qcells said the Cartersville operation could also help project developers qualify for the federal Domestic Content Bonus tied to the Investment Tax Credit. Because major solar module components are produced in the US, developers may find it easier to meet domestic sourcing requirements.

The company added that its vertically integrated manufacturing approach allows it to claim production incentives under Section 45X of the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit across multiple stages of the solar supply chain, including ingots, wafers, cells, and modules.

The investment is also expected to support thousands of manufacturing jobs in Georgia. Together, the Cartersville and Dalton facilities are projected to employ nearly 4,000 workers, including about 3,800 direct jobs across Bartow and Whitfield counties.

Qcells said the Cartersville factory is the first US facility of its kind built in more than a decade and includes what it describes as the largest ingot and wafer production plant ever constructed in the country.

DJI and Insta360 are suing and counter-suing each other over their respective vlogging cameras.

Maine has taken its public data breach reporting portal offline after fraudulent breach disclosures were published on the state's website, prompting a review of procedures to prevent abuse in the future. [...]

Climate scientists are sounding the alarm after a stubborn Antarctic heat wave shattered the region's winter heat record.

Jimmy Donaldson is officially the world’s richest man—if the currency is YouTube subscribers.

Désormais n’importe qui peut trouver en quelques secondes où vous habitez, votre numéro de téléphone portable, et même vos informations bancaires ou médicales. Certains ont compilé les récentes fuites de données pour en faire un moteur de recherche. Ou plutôt des moteurs de recherche, car il...

A new gravitational-wave catalogue reports 161 additional black hole mergers, bringing the total to 390 detections. Scientists at the University of Glasgow’s Institute for Gravitational Research are celebrating the release of a major new collection of gravitational wave discoveries, a milestone that highlights the rapid growth of gravitational astronomy. The latest Gravitational Wave Transient Catalogue [...]

Congress, afraid of empowering Bill Pulte, has allowed a decades-old spying law to lapse.

Jeff Bezos’ AI startup, Prometheus, raised $12 billion to build “artificial general engineer” tools to accelerate product design and manufacturing.