The Air Force's failure to follow "Buy American" laws is drawing harsh criticism from Connecticut's U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.

A Department of Defense report found problems with 18 of 54 contracts reviewed with regards to compliance with Buy American laws.

Murphy said this comes on the heels of a report in October that the Air Force had problems with 40 percent of its contracts. He called for the re-training of personnel to improve compliance.

The problem, the senator said in a statement, is non-compliance hurts the American defense industry, including shipbuilders and aerospace manufacturers across Connecticut that rely on defense contracts.

"Buy American laws exist for a reason – to ensure the U.S. government isn't needlessly sending taxpayer dollars overseas for goods they can buy here at home. For the Air Force to ignore the law in any instances is outrageous," said Murphy.