Bloomfield aerospace-parts maker Kaman Corp. is paying $4.75 million to settle government-fraud charges stemming from reliability issues with bomb fuzes it supplies the Defense Department.
Kaman’s Orlando-based subsidiary Kaman Precision Products, Inc. battled the U.S. Government in a number of lawsuits related to the FMU-143 fuze program. The lawsuits included contract termination, efforts by both sides to obtain financial settlements and a civil False Claims Act brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kaman had some reliability issues with fuzes sold to the U.S. Air Force, which the company attributed to faulty parts supplied by an outside supplier. Warplanes rely on the fuzes to arm and detonate their weapons loads as programmed.
As part of the $4.75 million settlement, the government withdrew its fraud allegations related to its termination of Kaman’s fuze contract. Kaman is admitting no liability in connection with the settlement.
Kaman will write off $1.45 million of program-related inventory, and the impact of the settlement on the company’s fourth quarter earnings will be $6.2 million.
