Investigation eyes defense equipment defects

The Yomiuri Shimbun The Defense Ministry will conduct a far-reaching investigation into its supply chain to check whether defective parts have been incorporated in radar systems and other equipment used by the Self-Defense Forces, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The ministry has decided more stringent quality management of components used in defense equipment is necessary after revelations that defective parts thought to have been made in China have caused problems in U.S. military systems.
The tentatively named “defense equipment agency” that will be established around October will conduct the investigation beginning in this fiscal year in cooperation with major manufacturers that supply the parts and procure them from subcontractors.
According to a senior Defense Ministry official, the investigation is likely to cover equipment containing many electronic components, such as radar systems, guided missiles and aircraft.

Production of such equipment often involves many companies hired as subcontractors and sub-subcontractors, and new parts are continually being developed. As a result, even major manufacturers that win contracts with the ministry can, at times, struggle to accurately grasp what kind of parts are installed in certain components.
The agency’s investigation will check what types of parts are used and how they are made. Agency officials will do this by methods including questioning companies involved in the manufacturing process.
This is designed to flush out glitches that could cause malfunctions, as well as detect the presence of spyware that would pilfer information from computer systems.
The ministry has already launched a priority review of components used in some equipment, and is considering what steps to take if any defective parts are confirmed. The ministry also expects the investigation will help prevent information about important Japanese defense technologies from being leaked overseas.
The distribution of parts used in defense equipment is becoming more internationalized, and managing the risks inherent in this process is growing in importance.
In 2008, a massive number of shoddy parts thought to have been produced in China found their way into computer systems used by the U.S. Air Force and other entities in the United States, and caused fires, system failures and other problems. In 2012, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee announced it had found about 1,800 cases of used components being passed off as brand-new parts for U.S. military equipment. In total, these cases involved more than 1 million bogus parts, which had been used in equipment including missile defense systems. The committee’s report called on the U.S. government to take countermeasures including establishing a system under which companies would be required to pay for replacing the faulty parts.
This U.S. case was one factor behind the Defense Ministry’s decision to initiate an investigation into the supply chain for Japanese defense equipment.Speech

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