Force Technologies Opens a UK Sovereign Continuity Assurance Centre and Long-Term Storage Facility in Wiltshire

Key takeaways

• In 2026 Force Technologies opened two facilities at its headquarters in Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire: a UK Sovereign Continuity Assurance Centre, home to its Sovereign Test Lab, and an expanded Titan Long Term Storage facility.
• The Sovereign Test Lab opened on 18 June 2026 and supports SAE AS6171 anti-counterfeit testing, using optical microscopy, X-ray inspection, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and decapsulation.
• Titan stores bare die, wafers and packaged components under nitrogen with oxygen below 0.1 per cent, keeping parts specification compliant for at least 15 to 20 years.
• Together the two facilities let aerospace, defence, rail and industrial customers test, store and draw down components without sending them overseas.

What has Force Technologies opened in Wiltshire?

Force Technologies has opened a UK Sovereign Continuity Assurance Centre and brought an expanded long-term storage facility into service at its Wiltshire headquarters. The centre houses the company’s Sovereign Test Lab, which opened on 18 June 2026 to test semiconductors for counterfeits on British soil. Alongside it, the Titan Long Term Storage facility, completed in late 2025 and expanded in February 2026, holds components, die and wafers in a controlled nitrogen atmosphere for decades.

Force Technologies has specialised in obsolete and end-of-life semiconductors since 1986. The two facilities sit on the same site, which means a part can be authenticated, stored and later built into finished devices without leaving the UK.

Why does the UK need a sovereign semiconductor test lab?

The UK needs a sovereign semiconductor test lab because counterfeit risk rises when genuine components become hard to buy, and overseas testing adds delay and loses control of the chain of custody. In 2025 and 2026, demand from AI data centres has pulled memory such as DRAM and high-bandwidth memory towards the largest buyers, leaving smaller manufacturers to source from less familiar channels. ASM International reported in 2026 that counterfeit electronics reports had reached a nine-year high.

Until now, many UK and European buyers sent suspect parts to test houses in the United States or Asia. Karen Salmon, CEO of Force Technologies, said when the lab opened:

Our new test lab gives UK and European customers access to sovereign anti-counterfeit semiconductor testing, helping them reduce overseas testing delays.

For defence programmes, keeping the work inside the UK also supports Ministry of Defence expectations on sovereign capability and traceability.

What standard does the Sovereign Test Lab test to?

The Sovereign Test Lab supports SAE AS6171, the SAE International test methods standard for detecting suspect and counterfeit electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) parts. AS6171 sets out how a test laboratory should inspect and test parts, and it sits alongside AS6081, which governs how distributors avoid counterfeits in the first place.

The lab’s published capabilities are:

1. External visual inspection of markings, leads and package condition.
2. Optical microscopy to find remarking, resurfacing and black topping.
3. Dimensional inspection against the original manufacturer’s datasheet.
4. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to confirm material composition, such as lead finish.
5. X-ray inspection to reveal the wrong die, incorrect wire bonding and package cracks.
6. Decapsulation to expose the die and check its markings against the genuine part.

Force Technologies is working towards ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for the lab. For hermetically sealed parts heading into harsh environments such as subsea systems, the company also carries out residual gas analysis (RGA), which measures moisture and gases trapped inside the package under MIL-STD-883 Method 1018.

How does the Titan long-term storage facility work?

Titan works by holding components in nitrogen-purged, ESD-safe cabinets where oxygen is kept below 0.1 per cent, temperature between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius and relative humidity below 40 per cent. Under these conditions, parts remain specification compliant for at least 15 to 20 years. An on-site generator, installed in November 2025, produces 99.9995 per cent pure nitrogen, so the facility does not depend on bottled gas deliveries.

Storage follows J-STD-033D for moisture-sensitive devices and JEP160 guidance for long-term storage, with continuous logging of temperature and humidity and audit-ready records. Customers can store three forms of product:

When a customer needs product, Force Technologies draws it from store and, for die or wafer, assembles and tests it to order. This turns a single last time buy into a supply line that can run for the rest of a programme’s life. Charlotte Hughes, Commercial Director, put it plainly:

Long-term storage of electronic components is no longer optional for defence programmes. It is a critical building block of continuity planning.

Which industries benefit from UK testing and storage?

Aerospace, defence, rail and automotive benefit most, because their products stay in service far longer than the semiconductors inside them are manufactured. A chip maker typically produces a part for 5 to 10 years, while a defence platform can operate for 30 to 50 years.

How does this fit a wider obsolescence strategy?

The two facilities put two parts of Force Technologies’ Continuity Principle into practice: supply chain assurance and lifecycle management. Testing proves that the parts are genuine. Storage keeps genuine parts available after the original manufacturer issues an end-of-life notice. Where no stock or die survives, the company’s form fit function replacement service covers the gap.

Force Technologies is certified to AS9100 Rev D and BS9000, is registered on JOSCAR, and CEO Karen Salmon is a Fellow of the International Institute of Obsolescence Management (FIIOM). Read the Sovereign Test Lab press release for more on the lab opening.

Visit the facilities

To arrange a tour of the UK Sovereign Continuity Assurance Centre and Titan Long Term Storage, or to discuss a testing or storage requirement, contact the Force Technologies team.