Rapid Fire May 22, 2012: Unsafe Parts Supply

Spot the fake The US Senate published a report [PDF] on counterfeit electronics that follows up on a hearing from November last year. Besides blaming China, the report concludes that: “the defense industry’s reliance on unvetted independent distributors to supply electronic parts for critical military applications results in unacceptable risks to national security and the safety of U.S. military personnel.” Oman orders 8 C295 transport aircraft from EADS. They are to be delivered next year; 3 of them configured for maritime patrols. The 2nd coast guard ship that the US will hand over to the Philippines will be stripped of its weapons, like its predecessor Gregorio del Pilar. USCG Dallas was recently decommissioned and will be renamed BRP Ramon Alcaraz. The Philippines is also looking for combat aircraft in negotiations reported to be open to manufacturers beyond the US. Peru is to upgrade its aging Mirage 2000s and MIG-29s for a total of about $266M. The 1st video below gives a quick overview of NATO’s AGS while the 2nd one features Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work speaking about the future of the U.S. Navy’s surface combat fleet and the LCS program: