October 31, 2013: The owner (Robert Luba) of a small American metal parts manufacturer (Allied Components) recently pled guilty to selling the U.S. Air Force substandard metal pins (for F-15s) made in India and also emailing an Indian firm details of some classified nuclear submarine components.

Allied Components was supposed to supply American made pins for the air force, but it was later discovered the pins were not up to specifications and then it was found that they were not manufactured in the United States either. It cost the air force nearly $200,000 to fix this and grounded 47 F-15s for a while as well.

As part of this scam Luba emailed Department of Defense spec data for many military components to the Indian manufacturer of the substandard pins. The government investigators found that some of the data folders sent contained documents detailing components for American nuclear submarines. This was a security violation. Luba sent the Indian firm Department of Defense specifications for hundreds of American military parts. While much of this data was not classified, some of it was, but Luba apparently did not care or simply did not pay attention. American firms selling substandard foreign parts that were supposed to be made in the U.S. is a growing problem. The Department of Defense has responded by double checking more and more parts.