U.S. Army B-1B bombers exercise with F-35 Lightning II fighters and Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-2s in the Sea of Japan, Sept. 18, 2017. (U.S. Army)
Honeywell, a U.S. government and U.S. defense contractor, has been fined $13 million by the U.S. government for selling unauthorized technical drawings to the Chinese Communist Party and other countries for various aircraft, tanks, Tomahawk cruise missiles and other high-end weapons.
According to a May 3 statement from the U.S. Department of State, the State Department and Honeywell have now reached a settlement after an extensive compliance review by the Defense Trade Controls Compliance Office, part of the department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, concluded that North Carolina-based Honeywell allegedly violated the Arms Export Control Act (EACA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Honeywell allegedly exported dozens of unauthorized technical drawings for components of various aircraft, missiles and tanks, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, B-1B bomber, Tomahawk cruise missile and M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. U.S. officials believe that certain information disclosed by Honeywell compromised national security.
The unauthorized drawings were reportedly exported to China, as well as Canada, Mexico, Ireland and Taiwan.
Of the $13 million Honeywell agreed to pay in civil penalties, $5 million was immediately used for “remedial compliance measures,” according to a State Department statement.
The State Department said in the statement that because “Honeywell voluntarily disclosed the alleged violations to the Department of Commerce, acknowledged the serious nature of the alleged violations, cooperated with the Department’s review, and proposed and refined a number of compliance programs in the course of that review,” the Department of Commerce concluded that Honeywell should not be administratively enjoined at this time. .
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