Counterfeit Electronic Components in Military Supply Chains

I recently had a conversation with a friend who supplies electronic components. He told me something very chilling. The U. S. Government supply chain that supplies NASA, Missile Defense, and other really important pieces of equipment are finding counterfeit electronic components being used in the manufacturing process.

This scares the living day lights out of me.

Components used in soldiers equipment. Components are used in missiles and aircraft.

Many of these components are no longer made so they have to go into alternative supply chains to find them.

NASA just confirmed this before congress.

Scary man....I guess parts are pulled off of boards and then remarked as new.

No news to a military/federal electronics tech or supply clerk!

It all comes down to the "lowest bidder" concept. The government, steered by a crack team of contract consultants, mandates ridiculous requirements, sometimes to the level of demanding things that don't exist. Typically, a federal manager will end up having to go with someone who can PROMISE to fulfill the obligation, even if it's against his better judgment, because their job is to make sure the mandates are fulfilled, and any respectable company is well outside of the allotted budget. A few years later (I've seen it even happen in months) the lowest bidder tanks and the owner walks away with millions in pocket to use for his next big government contract venture. With the current years budget already splintered off into the next project, and "broken promises" not falling into the realm of allowable funds, the manager has no choice but to resort to whatever means are necessary to maintain that system. This leads to shady electronics and refurbished equipment going into things that are ultimately responsible for the lives of human beings.

Rinse and repeat as necessary.

If ya do a search you can find some info on the military having some black market chips in some of the routers they had installed. Just like the last poster said it came down to cheapest hardware. Strange how the government don't follow there own copyright laws.

The 486 chip is as out date as an 8-track tape player but NASA still uses them. In May 2006 Intel announced that production of the 486 would cease at the end of September 2007. NASA is having to get then from anyone they can. Not sure how much they have they still runs the 486 but it is enough for them to still need a suply. The Hubble Space Telescope runs the 486. I understand that some of the shuttles computers run the 486 as well. You would think that NASA would be using the latest chip they could get.

If you want to get a chill.ALL chips, electronic components are made in COMMUNIST China by company's that are nothing more than front company's for the Peoples Liberation Army.

You can't buy one that is not.And they all have back doors programmed in them.

People have been misled.COMMUNIST China is still just that.
And we are more now than ever their enemy, economically and politically.

We have been aloud to be come puppets to them by our screwed up paid off politicians.

Found the thread about this.

FBI Fears Chinese Hackers may have Back Door...

Interesting indeed. Funny the ATS link was the first one to pop up in Google when I searched; US Government Counterfeit Computers

[edit on 3/26/2009 by ludaChris]

Funny i often thought why would the mighty USA have most of the circuitry and chips built and supplied by a possible enemy? to me this could mean they who supply the chips to the missiles etc could take control through back doors.no?

I saw an investigative report on tv. A camera crew went to some landfill in China where they scavenge electronic parts out of huge landfills. Real toxic, no environmental standards. It's illegal. The water in the town is poisoned with mercury and other heavy metals. The people got mad at the journalists and chased them away, because it's their only livelihood.

They even showed some person in the US who finally got busted for selling junk crap. They setup a business in their bedroom selling supplies for military purchase orders. Except they were using old crappy recycled junk from China.
Big money. 100s of thousands. Not milspec standards. Don't want to be the pilot who loses a vital flight system because some inferior, knock-off IC fails.


[edit on 27-3-2009 by Schaden]

Originally posted by stealthyaroura
Funny i often thought why would the mighty USA have most of the circuitry and chips built and supplied by a possible enemy? to me this could mean they who supply the chips to the missiles etc could take control through back doors.no?

Now that would be a bit of a problem. Launch a nuke at an enemy and they take it over in mid flight and send it back at us. It would be real easy to stamp it "Return To Sender" once they got into it. They would not even need missles of there own when they could use ours. This is not funny at all. Who know just how much trouble we really are in here?

Originally posted by luvs2spooge
No news to a military/federal electronics tech or supply clerk!

It all comes down to the "lowest bidder" concept. The government, steered by a crack team of contract consultants, mandates ridiculous requirements, sometimes to the level of demanding things that don't exist. Typically, a federal manager will end up having to go with someone who can PROMISE to fulfill the obligation, even if it's against his better judgment, because their job is to make sure the mandates are fulfilled, and any respectable company is well outside of the allotted budget. A few years later (I've seen it even happen in months) the lowest bidder tanks and the owner walks away with millions in pocket to use for his next big government contract venture. With the current years budget already splintered off into the next project, and "broken promises" not falling into the realm of allowable funds, the manager has no choice but to resort to whatever means are necessary to maintain that system. This leads to shady electronics and refurbished equipment going into things that are ultimately responsible for the lives of human beings.

Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Could not have said it better myself.....

Brilliant!!!

Having been a supply clerk in the Marines(I hated my job...lol), I can't say I'm particularly surprised.They waste so much money on stupid crap we didn't need. Lowest bidder....unfortuatly the lowest bidder is usually foreign....even though by law we had to try to source US made stuff first, then we could look elsewhere.