Chinese Counterfeit Parts Found in U.S. Military

vesicles said:

Another thing. Why is the US military using chips made in China knowingly? As I understand it correctly, chips are brains of these high-tech equipments, China could easily mess with the chips so that they might fail in a crucial time of operation, like in war. These things should be supplied by the most trusted parties, definitely made in America. Parts made in any foreign country should be out of question.

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If I am not wrong, they are using "Assemble in China" chips. Microchips got this unique property that, it only works as the intellectual patent know-how owner's demand. Those who doing the assembly work can not "trick" anything (like trick the IFF of a fire countrol computer or something). Americans invented Internet, Americans invented microchips, and in this case, I have no doubt the mentioned chips are US's ownd patent.

The ethic issue in this topic, besides (American's) patriotic moral, is that the American companies chooses off-shore sweatshop (in this case, Chinese sweatshop) as their supplier, for maximum profit in the process. If you want to stop the killing of seals, stop eating (and a whole lot "package" to utilize seal bodies) seals at its demanding market.

That is the ethic the Senate Arms Service Committee is trying to hiding from you.

I love how somehow this is China's fault. So China knew what these parts were going to be used for? How? How did China know who to go to to sell fake chips for military use? And they couldn't have been unique parts because how would China have known how to make it? So these parts had to be available for commercial use. It's the American defense contractor who went out to find a cheaper version so they can make more money that's 100% to blame. But it's still China's fault even though an American defense contractor would've had to have told the Chinese everything according to those that only lay blame on China. The anti-China camp again is trying to make it sound as if China put a gun to their head so it's not at all anyone's fault but China's. That's the only way you can make it only China's fault.

Again, if China knew what these parts were being used for, there would be more serious charges than a scandal of counterfeit parts being use for military use. Yet you hear nothing more than that. If they were not commercially available, there'a a serious case of Chinese infiltration in US defense industries because someone would've had to have passed the knowledge to make a counterfeit. We've already seen such charges in other areas like cyberwarfare yet here they can only go as far as countrerfeiting? Why don't the blame China camp demand the sky is green with pink polka dots while you're at it? And the term "counterfeit" is being used to sensationalized this as much as they can. Because again, if these parts were unique for only the military it wouldn't be at all about counterfeiting. So the fact is these parts were commercially available and like anything else sold commercially, there are competing versions that are cheaper.

It's the US contractors cut corners to earn more so they sourced MIC parts, not Chinese companies / suppliers sell at their own initiative. But given US is gettting into gear for election year and the increasing China-bashing rhetoric on all channels and venues, such finger-pointing is far from surprising.

Many military systems were designed decades ago using chips and parts that were manufactured back then, but may no longer be made today. There's a thriving business in resale of old chips, recycling old chips, after-market chips, etc. Some unethical businessmen would scrub the print on top of the chips off and print something else on it, then sell it unsuspecting customers.

The US government tried to combat this problem by establishing programs like Trusted Foundry Access, which requires the manufacturer to be located in the US with proper security procedures and staff with security clearance. But this only works if there are business willing to manufacture the parts in the US AND bid on military contracts. Although it's good money, many companies dislike dealing with military/government procurement because the attitude from government procurement is that they're doing you a favor for buying from you, and if they don't need you anymore, adios and go hang yourself out to dry. From business standpoint you only need to get burned once before you start looking for greener pastures.