Aerospace Firm Pays $1.5M for Pushing Shoddy Ejection Seat Parts

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Teledyne Energetic Safety Products, an

aerospace and defense electronics company in

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California has agreed to pay $1.5 million to

settle allegations it sold parts to the

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Department of Defense that were not up to

contract specifications.

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The firm's False Claims Act violations can be

traced back to the manufacturer of Digital.

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Recovery sequencer units used in ejection seat

systems.

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The devices, which were developed to replace

the analog recovery sequencer used in similar

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systems on F-15, F-16, F-22, A-10, B-1B, and

B-2 aircraft.

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Are critical.

They precisely sequence functions, including

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Pilot escape, seat stabilization, and

parachute deployment.

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According to a U.S. Justice Department

complaint,

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Teledyne ESP supplied a small electronic part.

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For the DRS units from a third party that was

neither an authorized reseller nor an OEM.

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Those non-conforming parts were delivered to

the Navy between November 2011 and June 2012.

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Special Agent in Charge Darrell Freeman with

the

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Air Force Office of Special Investigations

said

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The settlement reflects his agency's

commitment

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to, quote,

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"Rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse of the

defense supply chain," adding that the Air

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Force and DOJ will, quote, "aggressively

pursue

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and hold accountable any contractor that

fails"

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to meet the contract requirements that protect

the safety and readiness of the U.S. military.

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Personnel." Teledyne ESP was given credit for

its efforts to support the investigation,

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including identifying witnesses and

facilitating their interviews.

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Ejection seat systems must work precisely to

ensure personnel safety.

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In 2020, a fatal F-16 crash at Shaw Air Force

Base in South Carolina was blamed in part on

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an

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Ejection seat system parachute failing to

deploy.

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I'm Ben Munson and this is Manufacturing Now.