WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. government and the Kaman Corp. announced a settlement in a case related to allegedly defective fuses for the "bunker busting" Guided Bomb Unit-28.
The U.S. Department of Justice, in a filing against Kaman Precision Products Inc., of Orlando, Fla., under the False Claims Act, alleged breach of contract, stating that Kaman "knowingly substituted a component in four lots of fuses that made them unsafe for use in military operations."
The Justice Department said Kaman will pay the U.S. government $4.75 million in the aftermath of allegations that it had submitted false claims for inadequate FMU-143 fuses sold to the U.S. Army for use in the GBU-28 bombs.
Neither party admitted liability in the case.
"We are grateful to have arrived at an agreement that avoids continuation of the legal expenses and diversion of management time and effort that has been experienced for seven years now in connection with these matters," Kaman chief legal officer Candace Clark said in a release.
The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb nicknamed "Deep Throat," was originally produced by the Watervliet Arsenal in New York for use in 1991's Operation Desert Storm.
The Obama administration this year authorized the transfer of GBU-28s to Israel.
The Obama administration's decision to sell the GBU-28 bombs reversed a decision by President George W. Bush, who in 2005 had refused Israel's request for the ordnance "out of concern that Israel was transferring advanced military technology to China."
