[WASHINGTON] The day after President Joseph R. Biden’s National Security Advisor Jacob J. Sullivan met Aug. 29 with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the State Department announced an administrative fee and no individual or corporate criminal charges for Arlington, Virginia, based RTX after the Pentagon uber-contractor admitted transferring 750 times sensitive military technology to Red China, including technology connected to Air Force One, the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, the F-15, F-15, F-18, F-22 and multiple drones.
There were also unauthorized military technology transfers to Iran, Russia and other countries.
The complete list of U.S. military aircraft compromised between 2015 and 2023 includes these other airframe systems: A-10 Thunderbolt II Close Air Support Attack Aircraft, B-1B Lancer Supersonic Strategic Heavy Bomber, B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bomber, C-17 Globemaster III Strategic Airlifter, C-130J Super Hercules Military Transport Aircraft, CH-53 Super and King Stallion Cargo Helicopter, KC-46 Pegasus Tanker Aircraft, KC-130 Tanker Aircraft, KC-135 Stratotanker Tanker Aircraft, MQ-4 Triton Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV Helicopter, MQ-9 Reaper Combat UAV, MQ-25 Stingray Refueling UAV and P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
State’s Aug. 30 statement read in part:
The U.S. Department of State has concluded an administrative settlement with RTX Corporation (RTX) to resolve 750 violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), 22 U.S.C. § 2751 et seq., and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 C.F.R. parts 120-130. The Department of State and RTX reached this settlement following an extensive compliance review by the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance in the Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
The settlement was structured as a three-year consent decree, which also includes for federal government monitoring of RTX activities.
This consent decree could be interpreted as the Biden administration’s attempt to inoculate RTX from the possible return of President Donald J. Trump to the White House because the consent decree is an arrangement in lieu of prosecution, and thus, it could be argued that a subsequent federal prosecution would amount to double jeopardy.
The Fifth Amendment forbids double jeopardy, the second charging of a previously adjudicated charge.
The $100 million represents .001449 percent of RTX’s $69 billion annual revenue, In 2023, 59 percent of RTX’s sales came from the federal government.
RTX is the present-day incarnation of Raytheon Technologies, which changed its name July 1, 2023, to reflect its status as a defense conglomerate, of which Raytheon is now just another division. The company now operates as three silos, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, and Collins Aerospace.
The vast majority of the illegal military technology transfers were executed by Rockwell Collins, the processor company of Collins Aerospace, which RTX acquired in its 2020 merger with United Technologies.
Collins remains committed to its Chinese enterprise:
For close to 40 years, Collins Aerospace has been demonstrating our commitment to China. Our growing presence in China has been made possible by our company’s significant investments in the country, as well as strong corporate and personal relationships that have been formed over the last three decades.
Central to Collins’ business in China is supporting ChiCom’s C919 program. The C919 is a 160-passenger, single-aisle airliner developed to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 airframes. The “C” is an affirmation of the plane’s status as an option alongside A(irbus) and B(oeing), its manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC.
The Trump administration had COMAC on the list of possible companies to sanction because of its affiliation with the Chinese military, specifically the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
According to the company’s website, Collins has 950 employees at 15 sites in Mainland China, and nine joint ventures involving design and development, manufacturing, services, support, and information management for airborne solutions and full flight simulators.
