Counterfeit Countermeasures

A new Aerospace Industries Association report is warning that the volume of counterfeit parts in the supply chain is climbing, and mitigation plans need to be developed and implemented.

"The use of counterfeit parts in the aerospace industry may have life or death consequences," AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said in a statement. "Reducing their proliferation and potentially harmful effects requires increased diligence and active control measures from both industry and government." The statement further reads:

While the prevalence of counterfeit parts in the supply chain is difficult to quantify, in fiscal 2009, the Customs and Border Protection Service seized nearly $4 million in counterfeit critical technology components, including networking equipment and semiconductor devices that the aerospace industry uses. Counterfeit Parts: Increasing Awareness and Developing Countermeasures, seeks to raise awareness of the issues associated with counterfeit parts.

"Regardless of how counterfeit parts enter the aerospace and defense supply chain, the ramifications can be significant," said Blakey. "They can jeopardize the performance, reliability and safety of our products."

While profit is the primary incentive for counterfeiting, the long lifecycle of aerospace products also contributes to conditions that make aerospace and defense equipment susceptible to counterfeiting. Aircraft developed in the 1950s, such as the B-52, are still in active inventory while parts from original equipment, component manufacturers or authorized aftermarket manufacturers or distributors may no longer be available.

The report has more than 20 recommendations for industry and government that encourage further discussion among stakeholders on how to most effectively reduce counterfeit parts in the supply chain. The recommendations were prepared by AIA’s Counterfeit Parts-Integrated Project Team and include:

* Scrutinize the purchasing process to limit the use of automated systems, which increases the risk of counterfeit products.

* Develop an Approved Suppliers list for use by government and industry.

* Conduct training for employees in the areas of procurement, detection, reporting and disposition of counterfeit parts.

* Create standards in the area of mechanical parts and materials.

"Our industry makes the best aerospace products available and has an unsurpassed safety record," said Blakey. "We feel the recommendations will allow industry and government to address the issue before it threatens that record."

Read the full report here.

The Senate Armed Services Committee last week launched an investigation into counterfeit electronic parts in the Defense Department's supply chain. Further, according to a committee statement:

Counterfeit electronic parts pose a risk to our national security, the reliability of our weapons systems and the safety of our military men and women. The proliferation of counterfeit goods also damages our economy and costs American jobs. The presence of counterfeit electronic parts in the Defense Department’s supply chain is a growing problem that government and industry share a common interest in solving. Over the course of our investigation, the Committee looks forward to the cooperation of the Department of Defense and the defense industry to help us determine the source and extent of this problem and identify possible remedies for it.

InsideDefense.com reported at the end of last year that lawmakers -- after objections from the Pentagon -- dropped a proposal that would have required the defense secretary to appoint a senior official as the executive agent for preventing counterfeit microelectronics from entering the defense supply chain. During 2010, the House passed a version of the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill that called for the executive agent. However, according to the Dec. 28 story:

Senate authorizers included no such proposal in their version. Following objections from the Defense Department, lawmakers omitted the provision from the final version of the bill passed this month by the House and Senate.

The proposal would have put the executive agent in charge of developing a strategy, implementation plan and fiscal blueprint to "identify, mitigate, prevent, and eliminate counterfeit microelectronics from the defense supply chain." The official also would have assessed trends in counterfeit microelectronics.