US military red-faced for fake Chinese parts in equipment

​The U.S. military might benefit from launching a joint initiative with Gucci and Louis Vuitton to tackle the rampant Chinese counterfeit market. But while fake handbags pose minimal threats, the more than 1 million counterfeit parts that have been installed into U.S. military equipment could result in serious accidents. According to a year-long Senate investigation, most of the fraudulent parts are flooding in from China, and have made their way into equipment including Navy helicopters, cargo planes and the Navy's P8-A jet used for anti-submarine warfare. The embarrassed military's not the only loser here: Some estimate that procuring fakes rather than the genuine article has cost U.S. semiconductor companies over $7.5 billion annually, plus about 11,000 American jobs.