The Pentagon’s inspector general says the US Department of Defence put troops in Iraq at risk by awarding contracts for armoured vehicles to companies that failed to deliver on time.
The yet-to-be-publicly released report, obtained by news agency Associated Press, says 15 contracts worth $2.2bn awarded to Force Protection and Armor Holdings since 2000 failed to meet delivery schedules.
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The contracts were awarded without the usual tendering process because the government determined the two companies were the only ones capable of delivering the vehicles fast enough to meet troop demand.
Force Protection failed to meet all delivery schedules due to an inability to procure essential manufacturing materials.
Simula Aerospace and Defense Group, a subsidiary of Armor Holdings, lacked the internal controls to ensure delivery of the kits, which make military vehicles less vulnerable to roadside bombs.
The Army received kits “with missing and unusable components, which increased installation time and required additional re-inspection of kits”, the report says.
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