Quoted:
Quoted:
Is it made in America?
Pentagon Contractor Caught Illegally Selling Military Technology to China
A six-year U.S. probe found that Pratt & Whitney, a key military hardware supplier to the U.S., sold China the software and engines needed to make its first-ever modern attack helicopter.
The Canadian arm of the aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney closed a six-year U.S. government probe last week by admitting that it helped China produce its first modern attack helicopter, a serious violation of U.S. export laws that drew a multimillion dollar fine.
At the same time it was helping China, the company was separately earning huge fees from contracts with the Pentagon, including some in which it was building weapons meant to ensure that America can maintain decisive military superiority over China's rising military might.
The Chinese helicopter that benefited from Pratt's engines and related computer software, now in production, comes outfitted with 30 mm cannons, anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles and unguided rockets. "This case is a clear example of how the illegal export of sensitive technology reduces the advantages our military currently possesses," Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said in a statement released on June 28.
The events are once again raising questions about the circumstances under which major defense contractors might be barred from government work. Independent watchdogs have long complained that few such firms have been barred or suspended, even for egregious lawbreaking, such as supplying armaments or related equipment to a hypothetical adversary...
The Atlantic Monthly Group
How US software ended up powering Chinese assault helicopters
Why spy or steal when Western companies will sell you the tech you need?
In 2002, United Technologies Corporation was coming off its most profitable year ever. The various units of UTC, which owns businesses ranging from helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky to Otis (“the world’s leading manufacturer, installer, and maintainer of elevators”), had a net income of $1.9 billion off $27.8 billion in sales in 2001. Pratt & Whitney, the aircraft engine unit of UTC, was poised to bring in billions more from defense contracts, supplying the engines for Lockheed-Martin’s F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane.
But there were still opportunities to make even more money. One of the most promising came from Pratt & Whitney’s Canadian subsidiary, which had a plan to open up an entirely new market—China. Large risks were involved, however: the program was shrouded in secrecy, for one. It also involved working with partners who had a reputation for ripping off technology.
And it just happened to be illegal.
Ars Technica
And China's response
China’s attack helicopter not pirated: spokesman
A defense ministry spokesman Thursday rejected reports that China's Z-10 military attack helicopter pirated US technology.
Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun made the remarks at a monthly press conference when asked to comment on United Technologies Corp (UTC) of the United States admitting last month to selling China software that helped Beijing develop its first modern military attack helicopter, and agreeing to pay more than $75 million to the US government for the export violation.
"China's attack helicopters and their engines are all self-developed, and have proprietary intellectual property rights," he said, adding that the so-called piracy "is far from the truth."
Yang said the development of China's military equipment has always followed the principle of independent innovation, and relied on its own capability in research and production.
Huang Jun, a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times that the rationale of building engines is universal, and it is not an exclusive technology owned by the US.
The Z-10 helicopter, whose design was initialized in the late 1990s, was China's first independently developed modern attack helicopter. Designed for both military and civil use, the Z-10 made its maiden flight in late 2004.
Xinhua contributed to this story
The Global Times
You know, when you read things like that, taking the CEO, a few Sr. VPs and a couple of Program Managers out back and shooting them seems like a really, really good way to send a message as to how the U.S. views such shenanigans.