Focus: The Chinese Aerospace-grade DSP Industry is in the Introduction Phase, Localization of Aerospace-grade DSP is Urgent

DSP (Digital Signal Processor) is a microprocessor chip specifically designed to implement signal processing algorithms. Aerospace-grade DSPs are DSPs that operate in space environments and are widely used in aerospace projects for image encoding and decoding, image recognition, modulation and demodulation, data encryption, and spread spectrum communication, all of which face much harsher conditions than those on Earth.

With the rapid development of China’s manned spaceflight and artificial satellite fields, the demand for aerospace-grade DSPs in China is expected to continue to grow. According to the New Sijie Industry Research Center, the 2025-2029 Aerospace-grade DSP Industry Market Deep Research and Development Prospects Report indicates that in 2023, the market size for aerospace-grade DSPs in China will exceed 20 million yuan.

From the perspectives of technological maturity, production status, and demand prospects, China’s aerospace-grade DSP industry is still in the introduction phase, and there is a long way to go before large-scale domestic production and application can be achieved.

First, the development of aerospace-grade DSPs is relatively recent, and it is still in the technical research phase, with few relevant research results and low maturity. The R&D of aerospace-grade DSPs is a systematic project with high design difficulty, and the space environment presents more uncertainties compared to ground conditions, resulting in higher technical specifications than ordinary DSP chips. So far, the research on hardware development and software implementation of aerospace-grade DSPs in China, as well as on-orbit data reliability, single-event upset effects, real-time monitoring of functional anomalies, and on-orbit maintenance, is still immature and requires further exploration.

Second, although there are domestic manufacturers of ordinary DSP chips, aerospace-grade DSPs have extremely high technical specifications and high R&D costs. Currently, the market is dominated by leading global companies such as Texas Instruments (TI). Some Chinese companies have achieved mass production in the DSP chip industry, such as China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 14th Research Institute, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 38th Research Institute, Hunan Jinxin Electronics, Beijing Zhongxing Microelectronics, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but they are focused on civilian fields such as communications and industrial control, and no products have yet met aerospace-grade requirements. Moreover, aerospace-grade DSPs are related to national security issues, and there are few private enterprises involved.

Third, the development of new high-performance aerospace-grade processors has become a hot area for competition among major space powers, and China is also actively laying out high-end aerospace technologies and products. In recent years, the United States has intensified sanctions against Chinese enterprises in high-tech fields, with aerospace and related industries being key areas for U.S. trade suppression against China.

Most companies globally that possess aerospace-grade DSP production technology and key materials and equipment are based in the United States. Furthermore, aerospace-grade DSPs are involved in high-end strategic areas of the country, and major global aerospace-grade DSP and related companies strictly keep their specific technological processes confidential and build patent barriers for their own interests. Therefore, the need to develop domestically produced aerospace chips is urgent. In the future, as China’s aerospace industry rapidly develops and foreign countries increase their technological blockade against China, the demand for domestically produced aerospace-grade DSPs will continue to grow.