Outsourcing Defense Components
What could possibly go wrong?
Last year, the U.S. Navy bought 59,000 microchips for use in everything from missiles to transponders and all of them turned out to be counterfeits from China.
Wired reports the chips weren’t only low-quality fakes, they had been made with a “back-door” and could have been remotely shut down at any time.
If left undiscovered the result could have rendered useless U.S. missiles and killed the signal from aircraft that tells everyone whether it’s friend or foe.
This sure as hell ain’t one of the things I was hoping to be proved right about.
Via Insta
UPDATE: Business Insider is a little sloppy with this, it seems to me. If you follow their link back to their source it says
In 2010, the U.S. military had a problem. It had bought over 59,000 microchips destined for installation in everything from missile defense systems to gadgets that tell friend from foe. The chips turned out to be counterfeits from China, but it could have been even worse. Instead of crappy Chinese fakes being put into Navy weapons systems, the chips could have been hacked, able to shut off a missile in the event of war or lie around just waiting to malfunction.
Now, I’m just sitting here in my boxers eating leftovers from last night, but it seems to me that the phrase “could have been hacked” in the original is quite clearly different than
Wired reports the chips weren’t only low-quality fakes, they had been made with a “back-door” and could have been remotely shut down at any time.
Mind you, I don’t have layers of editors and fact-checkers to help me on this, but to state that this had occurred is a pretty serious charge, to say the least, and deserves a little better effort on Business Insider’s part.
It is, of course, “completely insane” as Fausta said when we were talking about this today to source critical defense components from the country which is your biggest rival.
But that’s what happens when you have a government whose expansive nature drives domestic companies out of business.
Military Thingies, Morality, Nanny State, Politics | Mr. Bingley | 
June 30, 2011 3:16 pm
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Ho. Lee. Crap.
What was the DoD thinking.
I wonder if the chips in BHO’s teleprompter came from China?
Thank you!
I have been pointing out that “could have been” is not the same as “did” to every single blog that has posted this story. You (and Instapundit’s link to you) are the only actual corrections I have seen to what really looks to me like a blatant lie.
Military procurement from the Chinese is not something that should be happening, but from there to accusing them of active sabotage is a big big step.
What would be the point of building a back door into low-quality, defective chips? I mean, if they don’t work to begin with – then what?
Texas Instruments used to be king of military applicaton chips. I am stunned (and more than a little credulous) that we are purchasing military grade chips from non-U.S. manufacturers.
Most military sustems purchased by the USAF/USN come with U.S. built specs.
I’m calling BS on this one.
BS or not, a tech site reported last year that Chinese chips have been found that could be used for spying or sabotage. Ubergeeks need to see if any of this is true.
Built to U.S. specs but not necessarily built in the U.S. that’s the kicker. It does happen.
I wonder if the chips in BHO’s teleprompter came from China?
Just the software (if you get my drift).