DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. Waived Laws To Keep F-35 on Track With China-Made Parts
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 4, 2014: The Pentagon repeatedly waived laws banning Chinese-built components on U.S. weapons in order to keep the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013, even as U.S. officials were voicing concern about China's espionage and military buildup.
According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, chief U.S. arms buyer Frank Kendall allowed two F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman Corp and Honeywell International Inc, to use Chinese magnets for the new warplane's radar system, landing gears and other hardware. Without the waivers, both companies could have faced sanctions for violating federal law and the F-35 program could have faced further delays.
"It was a pretty big deal and an unusual situation because there's a prohibition on doing defense work in China, even if it's inadvertent," said Frank Kenlon, who recently retired as a senior Pentagon procurement official and now teaches at American University. "I'd never seen this happen before."
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is examining three such cases involving the F-35, the U.S. military's next generation fighter, the documents show.
The GAO report, due March 1, was ordered by U.S. lawmakers, who say they are concerned that Americans firms are being shut out of the specialty metals market, and that a U.S. weapon system may become dependent on parts made by a potential future adversary.
The waivers apply to inexpensive parts, including $2 magnets, installed on 115 F-35 test, training and production aircraft, the last of which are due to be delivered in May 2014. Lawmakers noted that several U.S. companies make similar magnets.
Kendall said the waivers were needed to keep production, testing and training of the Pentagon's newest warplane on track; avert millions of dollars in retrofit costs; and prevent delays in the Marine Corps' plan to start using the jets in combat from mid-2015, according to the documents. In one case, it would cost $10.8 million and take about 25,000 man-hours to remove the Chinese-made magnets and replace them with American ones, the documents indicate.
Lockheed is developing the F-35, the Pentagon's costliest arms program, for the United States and eight countries that helped fund its development: Britain, Canada, Australia, Italy, Norway, Turkey, Denmark and the Netherlands. Israel and Japan have also placed orders for the jet.
The program is already years behind schedule and 70 percent over initial cost estimates. At the time Kendall was granting the waivers, officials were acutely worried that further delays and cost increases would erode the foreign orders needed to drive down the future cost of each warplane.
In the documents, Kendall underscored the importance of the F-35 program to ensure continued U.S. military superiority and counter potential emerging threats from nations developing their own stealth fighter jets, including Russia and China.
He said additional delays would force the United States and its allies to keep its legacy fighters flying longer, which would result in higher maintenance costs. It would also leave them with older jets, which Kendall said "cannot match the offensive and defensive capabilities provided by F-35."
The Pentagon first disclosed problems with non-U.S. magnets in a little-noticed written statement to Congress in the spring of 2013. But the statement did not name companies involved and did not disclose that some of the parts came from China.
Officials at Northrop, Honeywell and Lockheed declined to comment on the issue, referring queries to the Pentagon.
Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) at the Pentagon, said the office was committed to ensuring that federal defense acquisition laws were strictly followed.
"There was never any risk of technology transfer or other security breach associated with these manufacturing compliance issues," he said. "The JPO is working with industry to put in place long-term solutions to avoid the need for future waivers."
In his statement to Congress, Kendall said he took the matter "extremely seriously" and said Lockheed was told to take aggressive steps to identify any further cases, and correct its compliance process.
Bill Greenwalt, a former senior defense official and now an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute think tank, said the risk to national security appeared low since the magnets in question had no programmable hardware.
However, he added: "This is an area that will need considerable due diligence in the future to ensure that components for more high-risk applications are safe from potential tampering and foreign mischief."
SPECIALTY METALS
Since 1973, U.S. laws have banned the procurement of specialty metals produced outside the United States for use on U.S. weapons. A separate 2006 law also bans the purchase of end-use items and components that include such specialty metals.
The documents reviewed by Reuters show that Northrop first discovered the use of non-compliant Japanese magnets on the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar it builds for the F-35 in August 2012, alerting the prime contractor, Lockheed, which then told the Pentagon.
A subsequent investigation of all parts on the F-35 turned up two more cases in which non-U.S. specialty metals were used on the F-35's radar, and on target assemblies built by Honeywell that are used for positioning doors and landing gear.
Northrop's radar was also found to contain $2 magnets made by Chengdu Magnetic Material Science & Technology Co, in China's Sichuan region, according to the documents.
The magnets used on the Honeywell target assemblies were acquired through Illinois-based Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc.
Dexter and Chengdu Magnetic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
KNOWING AND WILLFUL?
In June, the House Armed Services Committee asked the GAO to determine whether the companies involved "knowingly and willfully" supplied non-compliant magnets, and how the Pentagon investigated that question. The committee also asked GAO for recommendations on potential changes, such as fines or penalties for non-compliance to deter future problems, as well as suggestions for beefing up Pentagon supply chain management procedures.
In a document approving use of Chinese magnets on the batch of 32 F-35 fighter planes now being built, Kendall said neither Lockheed nor Northrop knowingly allowed the parts to be used.
In his waiver, Kendall wrote that Northrop's initial mistake, involving magnets built in Japan, was an "administrative oversight" and noted the firm quickly reported the matter when it was discovered in August 2012. It led to the comprehensive review that found two additional issues involving Chinese-built magnets.
It is not clear from the waiver documents whether Kendall determined that Honeywell's use of Chinese-built magnets involved a similar mistake.
(Editing by Michael Williams, Tiffany Wu and Grant McCool)
*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News *Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com ©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS
DTN News - CHINA'S AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR WITH ITS NEIGHBORS OVER TERRITORIAL DISPUTES: Japan Says Faces Increasing threats From China, North Korea
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Kiyoshi Takenaka - Reuters(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 9, 2013: Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, the defense ministry said in its first annual report since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office.
The report was harshly critical of China's actions in waters near East China Sea islets claimed by both countries, and prompted a sharp response from Beijing, where a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Japan was exaggerating the threat to "artificially create regional tension and confrontation."
Sino-Japanese relations have been strained by the territorial row as well as remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.
"There are various issues and destabilizing factors in the security environment surrounding Japan, some of which are becoming increasingly tangible, acute and serious," said the defense white paper, issued as ruling party politicians call for the Japanese military to beef up its ability to respond.
The general commanding a Japanese airborne brigade whose paratroopers would be among the first troops to respond to an attack on a far-flung island, told Reuters his unit could benefit from better intelligence gathering tools, including drones.
"For any island operation, intelligence is crucial," Tadao Maeda, commanding general of the 1st Airborne Brigade, said in an interview. At present, his unit relies on intelligence from ground or maritime forces. Japan has allocated funds in this year's budget to look into possible acquisition of drones.
The defense ministry report said: "China has attempted to change the status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible with the existing order of international law," echoing recent comments by Abe and his cabinet.
"China should accept and stick to the international norms."
The row over rival claims to tiny East China Sea islets flared up last September after Japan nationalized the isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Patrol ships from both countries routinely shadow each other near the islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.
"Some of China's activities involve its intrusion into Japan's territorial waters, its violation of Japan's territorial airspace and even dangerous actions that could cause a contingency, and are extremely regrettable," the paper said.
Japan said in February that a Chinese naval vessel had locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer, a step that can be considered a step away from actual firing.
China denied the warship had locked its radar on the Japanese vessel. But the white paper said Beijing's assertion was "inconsistent with the facts".
Commenting on the defense report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said it contained "false criticisms" and followed growing calls in Japan to strengthen the military.
"The international community cannot but be concerned by Japan's real intentions and its future development," she said. "We hope that Japan can correct its attitude."
BOLSTERING DEFENCE
Abe returned to power for a rare second term after his ruling bloc won a general election late last year, promising to revive the economy and strengthen Japan's defenses. He also wants to revise the post-World War Two pacifist constitution to legitimize the military, although winning support for contentious revisions is likely to take time.
Japan is already bolstering defense of the disputed islands and this year raised its defense budget for the first time in 11 years.
The military is conducting joint drills with the United States, its main security ally, and fortifying defenses against missile attacks, while the government is reviewing its mid-term defense policy.
Japan plans to draw up a new defense plan by December, and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) submitted recommendations to the government last month that included looking into acquiring the capability to attack enemy targets.
Japan has long maintained that it has the right to strike enemy targets when an intention to attack Japan is clear, the threat is imminent and there are no other options.
But any sign that Japan is moving to obtain such capabilities could upset China and South Korea, where resentment against Japan's wartime aggression and colonization runs deep.
"The balance of power will be lost if we don't start considering striking back when attacked," said Osaka University professor Kazuya Sakamoto, who sits on a panel advising Abe on security policies.
The LDP has also recommended that the military should set up an amphibious Marines division equipped with tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey to boost the defense of remote islands.
Maeda backed the proposal to acquire the U.S. aircraft, whose deployment to Japan's Okinawa island has prompted local opposition because of concerns about its safety.
"For the airborne, the Osprey is a very attractive piece of hardware," he told Reuters. Japan has set aside about $80,000 in this year's defense budget to research the possible acquisition.
Abe, whose LDP is expected to cement its grip on power in this month's upper house election, also wants to revise an interpretation of the constitution that bans using the right of collective self-defense, or aiding an ally under attack.
A panel set up during Abe's first 2006-7 term recommended that the ban be lifted in certain cases, such as intercepting ballistic missiles bound for the United States. A new committee of advisers is expected to reach similar conclusions.
North Korea launched a missile in December, stepping up the threat that the isolated, impoverished state poses to rivals. In February, it conducted a third nuclear test, which moved Pyongyang closer to developing long-range nuclear missiles.
"The launch of a missile ... showed that North Korea has advanced its technologies to extend the range and improve the accuracy of ballistic missiles," the white paper said.
(This story corrects the name of the Chinese spokeswoman in the 14th paragraph)
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Linda Sieg and Raju Gopalakrishnan)*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Kiyoshi Takenaka - Reuters*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News *Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com ©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS
