Million for arbitrariness

23 2010 June 1

American company was punished for selling military technology to Russia

A representative of the American company Rocky Mountain in a court of the State of Colorado acknowledged the sale of military technology abroad without the consent of the US State Department. The company was sentenced to a fine of 1 million dollars - just as much the company earned in two years of supply. Contact the company in the State Department, it would most likely get permission - in the list of countries - partners of the company, in addition to Russia and China, were the closest allies of the United States: Turkey and South Korea.

The management of the American company Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. (RMI) has pleaded guilty to the illegal transfer of military technology used by the US military to Russia, South Korea, China and Turkey, prosecutors said.

Representatives of the company made this statement on Wednesday night Moscow time at a federal court session in the city of Denver, Colorado. The company is charged with one point - the sale of military technology without permission, reports RIA "News"With reference to the Associated Press.

Now RMI will have to pay a fine in the amount of 1 million dollars - exactly the same amount, according to the US Attorney's Office, she earned on illegal contracts.

The US authorities claim that RMI supplied military products to four countries: the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, Turkey and South Korea - from April 1 2005 to October 11 on 2007, from the US State Department. At the same time, it is not known what prevented the company from applying for such a permit: it is clearly not a fact that she would not have received such a license.

Rocky Mountain Instrument Co. was founded in 1957 in the state of Colorado. The company, headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, specializes in the manufacture of optical components for the American Army’s armaments, as well as special lenses for the laser used in the manufacture of modern weapons. Some of the technologies that RMI deals with are currently being actively used by the US military in Afghanistan.

We note that Russia has recently shown an increasing interest in using a number of foreign technologies in the defense sector. However, the country prefers to gain access to such opportunities legally.

As the newspaper VIEW, reported, the Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that, for example, the purchase of Mistral-class helicopter carriers from France interests Russia only on condition of the transfer of relevant technologies.

“Will we buy the Mistral or not? This is a good deal for French manufacturers. One such helicopter carrier is somewhere in the region of 300 million euros. For us, this transaction can be of interest only if it is carried out with parallel transfer of technology, ”said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the eve of his visit to Paris in early June. According to the prime minister, the solution of the issue of parallel transfer of technology is important so that "our shipbuilding - both military and civilian - would receive new technological impulses to development."

At the end of May, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that they were studying foreign experience in creating armored vehicles using the so-called capsular booking method and were not averse to acquiring the appropriate licenses abroad.

“We are able to create equipment that will be at the level of foreign samples. To do this, thoroughly, without embarrassment, explore foreign experience: we must take the best technical and design solutions from there. There is nothing terrible in it, ”said Major-General Alexander Shevchenko, head of the Main Automobile and Armored Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Note that the Ministry of Defense already has experience in acquiring military equipment abroad: in 2009, Russia purchased a trial batch of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from a recognized world leader in the production of such machines - Israel. At the same time, the priority of Israeli vehicles was given to domestic developments, samples of which, at that time, the military department considered insufficiently good.

Nevertheless, in the 2010 year, the Israeli Defense Ministry does not plan to purchase Israeli equipment, and the production of such devices will be organized in Russia. About this, in particular, 14 June, said Vladimir Popovkin, who served as deputy minister of defense for armaments. On Tuesday, 22 June, Popovkin was appointed First Deputy Minister of Defense, continuing to oversee the technology sector. At the same time, knowledgeable experts in an interview with the VIEW newspaper expressed the opinion that Popovkin would become “the number two man” in the Ministry of Defense.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said earlier that his department would buy domestic UAVs if the defense industry was able to manufacture devices that met the requirements of the military. Currently, seven Russian-made unmanned aerial systems such as ZALA-421-05, Irkut-10 and Orlan are undergoing operational tests at the border of Russia and Kazakhstan.

However, a new stage in the development of armaments, in which priority is given not only to the improvement of the developments of the Russian design bureaus, but also to cooperation with foreign companies, helps to solve not only exclusively military tasks. According to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "cooperation in such a sensitive area as military-industrial production, of course, leads to increased trust between countries."