The issue of counterfeit parts in military equipment isn't new -- and it isn't going away. As far back as 2012 Senate Armed Services Committee investigation found 1,800 incidents of counterfeit electronic parts in defense equipment. Yet a 2016 report the Government Accountability Office report states that the Defense Department supply chain still is "vulnerable to the risk of counterfeit parts, which have the potential to delay missions and ultimately endanger service members." This fall the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) threw its weight behind an emerging solution, one that uses plant-based deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, to create unique identifying markers on electronics and a range of other military parts.
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