The Pentagon waived bans on the use of Chinese-built components on US weapons systems in an effort to keep the colossal F-35 joint strike fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013. Pentagon documents show its top arms buyer, Frank...
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The Pentagon waived bans on the use of Chinese-built components on US weapons systems in an effort to keep the colossal F-35 joint strike fighter program on track in 2012 and 2013.
Pentagon documents show its top arms buyer, Frank Kendall, granted waivers to two main F-35 suppliers, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell International, for the use of Chinese magnets in the fighter plane’s radar system, landing gear and other hardware.
Both companies - top military contracting powers working for its peer Lockheed Martin to complete the US$392 billion (and counting) F-35 fighter jet system - would have faced sanctions for breaking US law, thus subjecting the program to further delays. The program is years behind schedule as it is. It is estimated to now stand at 70 percent over initial cost projections.
"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," Frank Kenlon, a former top Pentagon procurement official, told Reuters. "I'd never seen this happen before."
Documents show the Government Accountability Office is investigating three such cases where the F-35 was made using illegal foreign parts, Reuters reported. Congress ordered the GAO to report by March 1 whether American companies are being shut out of the specialty metals market and, if so, what the ramifications would be for American weapons systems.
The waivers granted by the Pentagon concern inexpensive parts, including $2 magnets, used to make 115 F-35 test, training and production aircraft. The last of these aircraft will be delivered in May.
Though lawmakers have said the magnets are also made by US companies, Kendall said the waivers were issued to keep production schedules on track, to avoid millions of dollars in retrofit costs and to prevent delays to the jet’s first use in combat by the Marines in 2015, the documents show.
Kendall indicated the pace of F-35 production must not slow, for potential threats from nations - like China and Russia - developing stealth fighters could emerge. In addition, a delayed F-35 would leave older, less capable fighter jets in use.
To replace the Chinese magnets now, one case showed it would cost $10.8 million and about 25,000 man-hours to fully replace them with American parts, the documents revealed.Monada.ai, a platform focused on automating freight sales, has partnered with CargoAi to integrate the Quote & Book API from…
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