The US Department of State announced an administrative settlement with BAE Systems, the American subsidiary of the UK-based defence contractor, to resolve 104 violations of arms export control regulations. The violations involved breaches of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations spanning multiple incidents over several years.
The unauthorized exports included technical data transfers to several countries. Among the documented cases, BAE sent technical information related to printed wiring boards for GPS applications to a Chinese manufacturer in December 2023. The state department noted that the company’s supply chain team lacked sufficient understanding of export control requirements and that internal systems failed to properly alert personnel to compliance requirements before the sensitive data was transmitted. Additional violations involved sending GPS-related technical data to Canada in September 2021 after a relevant licence agreement had expired, and transmitting specifications for an explosive mixture to the UK.
Other breaches included transferring technical data pertaining to a US Navy guided-missile destroyer to Germany and the unauthorized export of a military gas-turbine engine control system to Switzerland. BAE subcontractors also furnished defence services without proper authorization on more than 17 occasions across Italy, France, and Indonesia.
The settlement included a $36 million civil penalty, with $18 million suspended pending BAE’s implementation of enhanced compliance measures. BAE voluntarily disclosed all but one of the violations, a factor that contributed to the reduced penalty amount. The company stated it had cooperated fully with the state department’s review and committed to strengthening its export control compliance programmes. State department officials emphasized the significance of the settlement in underscoring the requirement for proper authorization in defence article exports.
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