GAO sleuths say counterfeit military electronics easily purchased online

Fierce Government IT is reporting that investigators for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had no problem procuring counterfeit mil-spec components online via private sector Internet buying websites. All counterfeit parts purchased came from 13 vendors located in China, states a recent GAO report.

How did this happen? As explained by the government IT news site's David Perera:

"At the request of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the GAO set up a fake company that was able to obtain membership in two online electronic parts Internet commerce platforms. From there, they solicited bids for 16 parts, seven of which were obsolete or rare, five of which investigators stipulated should have date codes after the last date the part was manufactured, and four of which investigators called for different specifications than those listed in a valid part number.

After selecting a vendor based on the lowest-price bid, investigators had a third party laboratory examine the parts they received. The lab concluded that all parts were counterfeit--or in the case of the parts with the modified specifications, bogus."

Based on the sleuthing conducted by the GAO, government officials wouldn't say definitively whether counterfeit parts have entered the DoD supply chain via online purchasing, but this is suspected to be the case. Some greater degree of vigilance is no doubt required.

Link: Counterfeit milspec electronics easily bought online (fiercegovernmentit.com)

China counterfeit electronics found in U.S. military aircraft; Senate committee warns of 'ticking time bomb'

As reported by The Washington Post and Bloomberg, dozens of suspected counterfeit electronics parts were revealed to have been installed on U.S. defense equipment from Raytheon, L-3 Communications, and Boeing -- including in aircraft deployed to Afghanistan. The Senate Armed Services Committee said it discovered counterfeit parts, usually originating from China, in at least seven aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin Corp. C-130J transport plane, Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and L-3 27J Spartan transport, as well as in helicopter night vision systems and aircraft video display units.

Michigan Senator Carl Levin, the committee's chairman, said that none of the counterfeit findings were connected to instances of lives lost or dramatic failures causing an aircraft crash. Nonetheless, Levin stressed that the committee staff has “identified lots of places where, unless that correction was made, there was real fear that those kind of disastrous consequences could take place.” Company executives, a Defense Department official, government investigators and a representative from the semiconductor industry all testified before the committee about the "ticking time bomb" of suspect counterfeit electronics eventually ending up in weapons systems.