According to media reports, crucial technology is being sold to Beijing where the PRC is taking advantage of intelligence being shared for its own security advancements. It comes as a surprising development as the Pentagon continues to share technology with Beijing. The Pentagon might have put in millions of dollars on unscrupulous defence firms, laying hope that new technologies could be developed as per changing nature of conflicts but that wasn’t the case where the fruits are being enjoyed by the dangerous CCP.
An investigation by the Washington Post found multiple examples of US firms providing Chinese entities with their equipment and software. The Washington Post exposed evidence of sales of US. origin technology involved in hypersonic missile program of China. And surprisingly, many of these US firms were frequently funded by the Pentagon.
Collaborations have taken place between students and scientists who were exchanging ideas and information which could have been stolen for the benefit of Beijing, which has started to develop second-strike capabilities to deter any foreign attack. Hypersonic is an emerging technological tool that could propel missiles at a higher speed, it is known to evade defence systems.
Lain Boyd, Director of the Centre of National Security Initiatives at University of Colorado says that “it is very disturbing because it simply means that the technology that is being used for military hypersonic, was basically funded by Pentagon.”
Pentagon funding Chinese defence?
In an investigation report penned out in Washington Post, 50 US defence firms seem to be responsible for the transfer of crucial hypersonic missile technology even though US defence exports to China have been banned. Washington Post revealed that approximately, 300 transactions of sales might have taken place between American and Chinese firms where the intermediaries could be involved in the black-marketing of missile technologies.
There are two companies that were involved, namely- Zona Technology and Metacomp technologies, which sold it to the Chinese Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, (CAAA) the main source during the 2021 hypersonic missile test conducted by Beijing. The CAAA has been instrumental in many missile tests for the last seven years.
David Habib, legal counsel for Metacomp, told The Washington Post the firm has “no knowledge of whether or how those companies have acquired Metacomp software or transferred it to others.” He said the firm is ‘scrupulous in complying with U.S. export control laws and demands its customers comply as well.’ Another Arizona-based firm, 4D Technology Corp, manufactures an instrument used to gather data in hypersonic tests, called an interferometer.
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The company received more than $2.5 million in Pentagon SBIR grants from 2010 to 2017, and in January sold through its distributor in the country interferometer technology, which went to the China Air to Air Missile Research Institute. Chinese companies using such tactics and strategies have benefitted themselves immensely which has reduced time, resources and energy for the missile testing which usually takes a lot of effort.
Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Baidu have been instrumental in developing surveillance, and satellite technologies, which could keep checks on movement of goods, services and crucial data.
The arms race is taking another term where some defence firms first get into business and then later are taken for a ride by foreign companies all through economic initiatives. In this arms race, the export laws should be adhered to very strictly in case crucial information is saved or any passive strikes through using means of algorithms and artificial intelligence.
