In the interest of fairness, I just noticed this story and thought it best to include it here. We covered this issue when it broke back in May…
Pentagon Rescinds Report on Possible Leaks of Jet’s Secrets
By Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 25, 2008; Page D02The Pentagon’s inspector general yesterday rescinded a previously issued report that said technology in the U.S. military’s newest fighter plane may have been compromised by unauthorized access to facilities and computers of BAE Systems, one of the aircraft’s builders.
BAE is one of the two main subcontractors working on the $300 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and is building some of the plane’s electronics and weapons systems and parts of its body. Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor on the jet fighter program, which is being developed by the United States and eight foreign partners, including Britain. Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles is the project’s other main subcontractor.
In working on major aircraft, contractors often have to share sensitive and classified information, and the government has safeguards in place for its use.
In a March report, the Defense Department inspector general said “incomplete” Pentagon oversight may have increased “the risk of unintended or deliberate release of information to foreign competitors.“
BAE is getting into a pretty wide array of defense projects for the United States, including recently taking over management of the Marine Corps Test and Evaluation office near Quantico. If the company wants to keep wrapping its tendrils around more and more of the US defense market, it was important to purge this issue from its reputation — no matter how tenuous it was.
(Gouge: NC)
– Christian
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The confusion is unsurprising. ITAR rules and processes are nightmarish and rife for second-guessing export decisions. The reasonable-man test can have a tough time standing up to battalions of legal-eagles.
Seriously, ITAR is a joke, I’m sorry but if the US doesn’t trust the UK by now then we might as well forget it.
Also ITAR screws over all the small technology companies in the US and fills the pockets of LM etc, it’s basically a blank cheque from the US congress to the big systems integrators.
When US components get completely designed out of all European systems the US tech is just going to rot away.
The US may have it’s fun lording a tech edge over the UK for today, but this is an idiotic long term plan.
I work for BAE Systems and I know at our facility we take our Security very seriouly as we are all American citizens. Now on the other hand the biggest security breaches was at the hands of Washington and members of the Military. One example is John Anthony Walker. A ex navy man who took over 200,000 classified encrypted naval messages and sold them to the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war. John Walker operated for 18 years even though there was enought evidence to stop his activities but was ignored by the authorities. Why he never was not executed is beyond the whole nation who he put at risk for his treasonous behavior. I can give you more examples but would take all day.