GlobalFoundries (GF) and Qualinx have completed what they describe as the first fully European, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow for a GNSS system-on-chip, marking a concrete step toward supply chain sovereignty for PNT-dependent aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure applications.
The milestone centers on Qualinx’s QLX3xx — a reconfigurable GNSS SoC and Analog Front End targeting secure positioning, navigation, and timing applications, including resilient timing and synchronization networks and ultra-low-power GNSS receivers for connected edge deployments. The chip was designed, taped out, and manufactured entirely at GF’s Dresden fab using its FDX process technology. No design data or physical materials left the European Union at any stage of production.
“Our partnership with Qualinx marks the first operational milestone,” said Dr. Manfred Horstmann, SVP and General Manager at GF. “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.”
Qualinx CEO Tom Trill characterized the flow as proof that full European manufacturing control is no longer theoretical. “This first secure product demonstrates that a fully European manufacturing path — from mask services to wafer production — is already a reality today,” he said, adding that the effort gives Qualinx complete control over IP, data, and supply chain within Europe.
The Dresden fab’s sovereign manufacturing capability is co-funded under the European Chips Act. GF says it aims to have a fully automated trusted European flow in place by end of 2026, with regular foundry engagements available to aerospace and defense customers starting in 2027. That roadmap will incorporate European IP partners, mask houses, and OSAT service providers.
GF is also working with Deutsche Telekom on a parallel effort to ensure that production data — from design and tape-out through manufacturing and quality — can be processed, transported, and stored entirely on European networks, cloud infrastructure, and data centers. The practices developed there are intended to feed directly into the scaling of the sovereign manufacturing model.
Qualinx, headquartered in Delft, Netherlands, was founded in 2015. The company’s proprietary Digital Radio Frequency technology implements traditional analog receive-chain functions in digital hardware, targeting GNSS, PNT, and PVT chipsets and modules for applications ranging from automotive and fleet to wearables and asset tracking.
