US Senate committee: US weapons full of fake Chinese parts

Shanghai: Researchers of a US Senate committee have found that thousands of United States' warplanes, ships and missiles contain fake electronic components from China, leaving open the possibility of malfunction in times of peace and war.

The US Senate Armed Services Committee, an influential organ of the US Senate, said its researchers had uncovered 1,800 cases in which the Pentagon had been sold electronics that were likely counterfeit.

Overall, the committee said it found that more than a million fake parts had made their way into aircraft such as the Boeing C-17 transport jet and the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.

Interestingly, the Indian Air Force has just taken delivery of its full order of six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and has placed orders for 10 of the larger C-17s.

The committee also found fake components in Boeing's CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter and the Theatre High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system.

"A million parts is surely a huge number. But I want to repeat this: we have only looked at a portion of the defence supply chain. So those 1,800 cases are just the tip of the iceberg," said committee chairman, senator Carl Levin.