WASHINGTON — Two powerful U.S. senators want the Pentagon to consider suspending or blocking one of the nation’s largest defense contractors from government work because a subsidiary has admitted selling software to China that it knew would be used for military purposes.
In a letter to the secretaries of defense and state, Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., said the sale by Pratt & Whitney Canada, a division of United Technologies, raised concerns that the deal “may have caused significant harm to our national security.”
The contract involved selling software designed for civilian helicopters that the company knew “would be used by China to develop its first modern attack helicopter,” they wrote to Pentagon chief Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The deal also could have meant access to a $2 billion civilian helicopter market in China, according to Justice Department documents.
The letter came after Pratt & Whitney Canada pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges from the Department of Justice stemming from the development of the Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter. United Technologies and another subsidiary also agreed to pay a $75 million fine. The department delayed charges against United Technologies and the other subsidiary for two years, providing that they pay the fine and hire an independent monitor to make sure they’re following exports law.
