There was apparently a bit of a dust-up yesterday involving L-3 – -manufacturer of the EOTech holographic weapon sight system and the U.S. Government. The Feds had been investigating some problems with L3’s claims about the accuracy and reliability of their devices in low temperature and high moisture environments (i.e., a large block of ice). Apparently, not only did EOTech discover the problems during their own testing, but they then failed to disclose the results . . .
Apparently having been caught dead to rights, the parent company moved to make the problem go away as quickly as humanly possible. From Soldier Systems:
By mid afternoon, L-3 had settled with the government for $25.6 million which clearly indicates L-3 has known since summer how much the US Government would be willing to accept in relief. Their quick action helped turn a drop in stock value of more than 6% at mid-day, yet they still closed the day down from opening prices.
What remains, is for L-3 to answer to domestic consumers, state and local governments as well as international customers.
That last part is really the issue. Those involved haven’t been very forthcoming about the exact nature of the performance problems and the fact that L-3 actively tried to cover this whole thing up isn’t very comforting. Are we talking about “springtime in Alaska” levels of cold and moisture or “Captain America frozen in Antarctica” levels of cold and moisture? It makes a difference .