Boeing caught selling used parts as new to Pentagon (Oct 2013)

http://rt.com/usa/boeing-caught-selling-used-parts-237/

The Pentagon?s inspector general has found that Boeing repeatedly charged the United States military for ?new? helicopter parts even as it installed used parts instead.

Since 2008, Chicago-based Boeing, the military?s second-largest contractor, has overcharged the United States on four separate occasions, to the tune of $16.6 billion.

In addition to being overcharged, the military paid for parts that Boeing never installed at all but was allowed to keep for its own use in the future.

?The bottom line is that using reworked parts rather than new parts increased Boeing?s profit,? Bridget Serchak, a spokeswoman for the inspector general, said to Bloomberg. She added that the U.S. paid Boeing for parts ?that were proposed but never installed,? and ?is paying for additional parts that they do not need and may not use.?

Imagine that!

Having worked in aerospace, and on Boeing programs, I can tell you that "Used" and "Reworked" are not necessarily interchangeable descriptions. A newly manufactured part with a defect (nonconformance) can be reworked to blueprint, and is still a "new" - albeit reworked - part, so long as the rework disposition is accepted by both Boeing and the government (DCMA).

A used part can also be reworked, but is still a used part.

Bottom line, though, is that EVERY part Boeing uses on military aircraft is contractually - and many times physically - approved by the DCMA. I doubt the government just found out about this, as they've likely been approving it all along.

Yup - That's probably the crux of it - "Used" vs. "Reworked"

Been there, done that, back in the 1980's. Not much has changed from what I can tell.

Nope. I've been out of it for almost two years now. While the pay is ridiculous, I certainly don't miss the silly games and the associated stress. This is just the latest example of that perpetual dance of blame. I often found it amazing that an F/A-18 ever got off the ground ... a fantastic aircraft held together by red tape.