Counterfeit Chinese Parts Slipping Into U.S. Military Aircraft: Report

[NUmarcus]

Counterfeit Chinese Parts Slipping Into U.S. Military Aircraft: Senate Report - ABC News

Author: Lee Ferran
Published: May 22, 2012

Counterfeit electronic parts from China are "flooding" into critical U.S. military systems, including special operations helicopters and surveillance planes, and are putting the nation's troops at risk, according to a new U.S. Senate committee report.

A year-long investigation conducted by the Senate Armed Services Committee found more than one million suspected counterfeit parts made their way into the Department of Defense's supply chain and were bound for use by "critical" military systems, according to the 70-plus-page document released Monday. In addition to Navy helicopters and surveillance planes, the parts were slated to be put into the Air Force's newest cargo planes.

Report: http://armed-services.senate.gov/pre...2005-21-12.pdf

Summary of Issues (Snippets from Article):

Chinese companies were identified as the "primary source" of the counterfeit goods and the Chinese government was criticized for its alleged disinterest in cracking down on counterfeiting there. The report said that Chinese companies take discarded electronic parts from all over the world, remove any identifying marks, wash and refurbish them, and then resell them as brand-new – a practice that poses a "significant risk" to the performance of U.S. military systems.

But the committee also pointed a finger at the Pentagon and U.S.-based defense contractors that rely on "hundreds of unvetted independent distributors."

According to the document, the investigation "revealed failures by defense contractors and [the Department of Defense] to report counterfeit parts and gaps in DoD's knowledge of the scope and impact of such parts on defense systems."

[YeuEmMaiMai]

they are having the same problem in civil aviation as well......the fear with the military parts is that somehow there may be a back door to enable the chinese military to gain access.

[mattfivefour]

Someone, somewhere, in every chain where counterfeit parts are being purchased KNOWS that those parts are counterfeit and is buying them because they are so cheap in comparison with the real thing. Clearly some defense contractors or their suppliers are more interested in profit than the security of their own country. To me, doing such a thing is akin to treason.