"According to a recently released Department of Defense report,Boeing (NYSE:BA) overcharged the U.S. Army by $13 million dollars for 18 parts, the bill for which came to $23 million as opposed to a fair sale price of $10 million. While it’s only recently become public, the report is dated May 3, and at the time of its issue, Boeing had already repaid $1.3 billion in what the aircraft manufacturing called “defectively priced parts”. In one instance, Boeing charged $644.75 for a gear that sells for $12.51. Boeing also charged the Army by tens of thousands of percents over fair sale values on parts the DoD already had in surplus, like 4 cent thin metal pin for which Boeing charged $71.01''..............
This news brings into focus not just bookkeeping issues inside one of the world’s top two aircraft manufacturers, but also ethical issues at both Boeing and the Department of Defense, which spent exorbitant amounts of taxpayer money on products it didn’t need. The report also found that the government could fulfill $200 million worth of orders it had made with Boeing with inventory it already had in storage. Though technically the Pentagon has no policy that requires the Army exhaust surplus inventory before making new purchases, it seems especially cavalier and wasteful to spend unnecessarily when the government is is in the midst of a budget crisis.
DoD’s 2010 audit also found that the Air Force spent $70 million on parts from outside contractors that they already had in their inventory. And it’s apparently common practice for Boeing to negotiate lower prices on parts from its suppliers only after it has signed contracts with the Army, but before supplying them with the discounted parts. Boeing then pockets those savings to increase its own profit share rather than passing them on to the Army in the form of lower prices".............READ MORE
This is a known way for military black budget programs to get funding. I remember in the 80ies an Air Force whistleblower did his patriotic duty and called out the Air Force on something similar, only to find later on he was interfering with the funding source for several stealth programs. Just FYI, I don't fault you for being less than trustful with Boeing, they are too big and too top heavy. But hey, that is what you get when you eliminate and consolidate all big defense contractors down to a handful.
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