Whistleblower Lawsuits Says Company Provided Faulty Grenades to Army

John King, a former quality manager at the Florida based DSE Inc. says that he was fired after refusing to approve grenade fuzes.DSE is one of the largest providers of grenades to the U.S. military. King said he feared that the defective grenades might explode prematurely or not at all. King, who filed a whistleblower suit against the company says he warned superiors about quality problems. According to a U.S. Dept of Justice response to the lawsuit filed in 2009, some of the allegations were confirmed by an audit. DSE In. continues to receive military contracts for grenades and netted $22.4 million for a contract for 40 mm grenades from the Army in 2010. In 2009, a 40 mm grenade the same type that DSE Inc. makes exploded prematurely during a March 2009 live fire training exercise in Quantico Va. injuring five U.S. Marines. Investigators concluded that it was as a result of a faulty fuse but did not pinpoint the manufacturer as DSE. The whistleblower lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act and Mr. King will be entitled to a reward of upto 25% of what the government recovers from DSE.