LONDON -- More than a million suspect counterfeit electroniccomponents have been used in 1,800 separate cases of bogus parts affecting USmilitary hardware, according to a report produced by the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee. The instances affect a number of military airplanes, helicopters,missile, and electronic warfare systems.
The year-long investigation found large numbers ofcounterfeit parts -- mainly from China -- have been making their way intocritical defense systems. A 112-report produced by the committee highlightscases in the US Air Force's largest cargo plane and in assemblies intended togo in special operations helicopters and US Navy surveillance planes.
"Our report outlines how this flood of counterfeitparts, overwhelmingly from China, threatens national security, the safety ofour troops and American jobs," committee chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich)said, in a statement. "It underscores China's failure to police the blatantmarket in counterfeit parts -- a failure China should rectify," he added.
The report concludes that China is responsible for more than70% of the suspect components. The next two largest sources are the UnitedKingdom and Canada, although the committee identified instances were both thesecountries were reselling suspect counterfeit electronic components thatoriginated in China.
Another conclusion was that the use of unvetted distributorsto supply electronic parts meant that the Department of Defense (DoD) anddefense contractors are frequently unaware of the ultimate source of parts usedin defense systems and that this "results in unacceptable risks to nationalsecurity and the safety of US military personnel."
The report also concluded that known instances of the use ofsuspected counterfeit components were not reported promptly to the DoD bycontractors.
In one example the report says electronic parts supplierHong Dark Electronic Trade (Shenzhen, China) supplied 84,000 suspect parts intothe DoD supply chain. These components were then used in Traffic Alert andCollision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) intended to be deployed on a number ofplatforms; into assemblies for the Excalibur artillery projectile, for Navysubmarine imaging systems, and the Army Stryker mobile gun.
This story was originally posted by EETimes.
