FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CIV
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1998 (202) 616-2765
TDD (202) 514-1888
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The United States has sued a military contractor for installing parts the government alleged it knew were defective in manufacturing target drones for the Navy, the Department of Justice said.
Assistant Attorney General Frank Hunger of the Civil Division said the Department intervened and filed an amended complaint Thursday in a qui tam suit originally brought against Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by a Northrop employee.
"This lawsuit demonstrates the government's commitment to pursue contractors who are alleged to have knowingly used parts substantially inferior than what the government paid for," said Hunger.
Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a private citizen can sue on behalf of the United States and may share in any recovery.
The suit, which alleged violations of the False Claims Act, said Northrop, in selling the drones to the Navy, knew they contained substandard parts that failed to meet contract specifications and were faultily manufactured by Northrop's suppliers.
The faulty parts included vertical stabilizers, gyros, converter voltage regulators, engines, bulkheads, horizontal stabilizers and other equipment, the suit said.
In 1991, Northrop transferred its target drone operation from Newbury Park, California, to Hawthorne, California, and began acquiring parts from outside vendors instead of manufacturing the parts in-house as it had done previously, the suit said.
A government investigation confirmed that 32 target drones failed during operations at the Navy's Point Mugu, California, firing range from 1993 through 1995. Northrop, the suit said, had warranted that its target drones would be free from all defects in material and workmanship for 12 months.
Target drones are used by the Navy to provide realistic aerial targets that simulate enemy air threats for gunnery and missile training exercises. The drones can be launched from ships, aircraft or land-based installations.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service's office in Upland, California, investigated the case.
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