As many as 7,900 titanium aircraft parts installed in military planes could be made of metal that’s too weak for the job, according to documents from a four-year Defense Department investigation.

Executives with Western Titanium, a metal supplier to Boeing, the Air Force and other government contractors, were indicted Dec. 4 for fraud over metal provided for Air Force F-22s, F-15s and C-17s, Navy F-18s, and NASA’s Kepler spacecraft.

"Several of these parts were placed on active-duty military aircraft" that were or are in active service, according to an affidavit in support of a search of Western’s business records.

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