| ITT AN/ALQ-136 Countermeasures Processor (ITT 80063SM-A-919797) | |
| Written by AnubisTTP on 2026-01-01 |
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This enormous hybrid integrated circuit, originally manufactured by ITT, was built to be the 'brain' of the AN/ALQ-136 countermeasures system on a US Army Cobra attack helicopter. This is one of the largest and most complicated hybrid integrated circuits we have ever seen; the processor contains almost 100 dies, which are sealed in a huge 116 pin quad inline metal package. The core of this processor is built around four AMD AM2901B bit slice processors. Each AM2901 can handle 4 bit processing; by linking four dies together, a 16 bit 16MHz processor is created. The processor also contains ROMs which store the radar definitions of enemy aircraft, a questionable design choice since it requires the entire processor to be replaced to update the system with definitions for new aircraft. The ITT AN/ALQ-136 Countermeasures System was first released in 1982, and the example processor shown here was manufactured in 1986.
ITT AN/ALQ-136 countermeasures processor, at rest.
This is one of the largest and most complicated hybrid integrated circuits we have ever seen.
This device is built around four AMD AM2901B bit slice processors.
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