JSF Program May Benefit From Loosening Of Export Laws

The Joint Strike Fighter project was supposed to strengthen relationships among the US and its allies, but program suppliers have become increasingly frustrated by security-related red tape. On Tuesday, the White House moved to expedite the licenses and clearances allies need to collaborate effectively with the US.

Britain, as an example, is spending about US $2 billion on development of the JSF, which is called the F-35 Lightning II in the US. Rolls Royce is supposed to be collaborating with General Electric on the fighter's engine, but strict export laws have put the federal government in the middle of not only equipment and parts exchanges, but telephone conversations, e-mails and paper communications.

Contractors complain the security precautions have been overkill, impeding work flow, causing program delays, and even complicating efforts to address world problems together with allies. Part of the purpose of the Joint Strike Fighter was to improve interoperability among allies undertaking efforts such as the coalition in Iraq.

Even in technologies primarily civilian in nature, overreaching government involvement is impeding business which might otherwise be won by US companies made suddenly more competitive by the fall of the US Dollar on currency exchanges.

The Hill reports President Bush’s export control directive orders additional resources devoted to speed export licensing, procedural reforms, and upgrades to an electronic licensing system affecting export items controlled under the U.S. munitions list. The mandate follows attempts last year in congress to streamline export control processes.

It's not clear whether the State Department will embrace the reforms ordered by the White House, or how quickly the bureaucracy can be turned around. The department is already supposed to issuing decisions on defense trade export license applications within 60 days, a relative eternity compared to the pace of today's global business flow. But it hasn't even met that mark, sometimes taking several months to act on applications.

But there are signs of hope for JSF proponents. Following last year's heat from congress, the administration says the State Department has cut its application backlog in half since last April.

FMI: www.jsf.mil, www.state.gov