Charles Riechers, 47, came under scrutiny by the Senate armed services committee earlier this month for taking a lucrative job at a defence contractor while awaiting confirmation in his new job as the principle deputy assistant secretary for acquisition.

The job put Mr Riechers in charge of ordering some of the highest priority weapons programmes of the air force, including a $40bn aerial refuelling tanker and a $15bn combat and rescue helicopter.

He was found dead at his home in the Virginia suburbs of Washington on Sunday, officials told reporters.

The Senate had held up the appointment for two months. In the interim, Mr Riechers was paid $26,800 for two months' work as a technical advisor for Commonwealth Research Institute (CRI), a defence contractor.

The job at CRI had been arranged as a favour to the air force, and Mr Reichers told the Washington Post earlier this month that the only work he undertook was to attend a company Christmas party. "I really didn't do anything for CRI," he told the newspaper. "I got a pay cheque from them."

The air force claimed that Mr Riechers had provided technical advice.

His death comes at a time when the Senate has been criticising the military's procurement programmes for cost over-runs and late deliveries.

More than two dozen of the Pentagon's main acquisition programmes had gone over budget by at least 50%, the committee said earlier this month.