Countering Counterfeit

The Senate Armed Services Committee has launched an investigation into counterfeit electronic parts in the Defense Department's supply chain, according to a statement just released by the panel. Further:

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.

The nixed provision defined "counterfeit microelectronic" as "any type of integrated circuit or other microelectronic component that consists of a substitute or unauthorized copy of a valid product from an original manufacturer; a product in which the materials used or the performance of the product has been changed without notice other than the original manufacturer of the product; or a substandard component misrepresented by the supplier of such component."

But DOD distanced itself from that definition and objected to the provision, asking lawmakers to wait for the results of an ongoing Pentagon review.  In an appeal sent to Congress and reviewed by Inside the Pentagon, the department argued the ongoing review involving industry suppliers and DOD agencies and components would consider the need for an executive agent and write a definition for "counterfeit."

A joint effort between the Pentagon's procurement shop and the office of DOD's chief information officer -- the Countering Counterfeits Tiger Team (C2T2) -- would "address DOD's vulnerabilities associated with counterfeits in our supply chains and methods to mitigate risks caused by those counterfeits, to include but not limited to information, communications technology and electronics," the appeal stated. The effort would provide findings, a proposed strategy and a plan of action to senior DOD officials in "fall 2010," the Nov. 19 appeal added.