Canadian Engines Turn Up in Chinese Military Copter

转载自
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/world/americas/23canada.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

看到最后，居然是40年前设计的东西...

一边是丢人，一边是搞笑


By IAN AUSTEN
Published: October 23, 2007

OTTAWA, Oct. 22 — The United States State Department says it is investigating how engines made by a Pratt & Whitney subsidiary in Canada turned up in a Chinese attack helicopter.

The subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney Canada, said last week that 10 engines were sent to China in 2001 and 2002 under a Canadian government export license for use in civilian copters. But the engines, the company said, ended up in prototypes of the Z-10, China’s first domestically developed attack copter, designed to carry guided antitank missiles.

While the Canadian government plans no action against Pratt & Whitney over the military diversion, a State Department spokesman, Karl E. Duckworth, said the United States government was continuing an investigation into the company’s actions. He declined to provide any details, though American export controls prohibit providing certain technology for military use.

It is unclear under what conditions the controls would apply to Pratt & Whitney. Some foreign-made technology uses American components and designs, and the Canadian subsidiary is owned by an American company, United Technologies of Hartford, Conn.

In an e-mailed statement, Jean-Daniel Hamelin, a spokesman for Pratt & Whitney Canada, said the company was selected by a Chinese aircraft maker in 2000 to provide engines for the civilian variation of a helicopter that was simultaneously being developed for the military.

When Pratt & Whitney Canada, based near Montreal, applied for an export license from the Canadian government, it understood that the Chinese would develop their own engine for the military model, Mr. Hamelin wrote. The two helicopters, he said, were being developed on a “common platform” that shared rotors and transmissions.

But, Mr. Hamelin added, “the Chinese engine encountered delays, and our engines were used during the development of the common platform.” Shipments to China by the company’s Canadian unit stopped in 2002. It is unclear why sales were halted.

“The program has undergone changes by the Chinese,” Mr. Hamelin wrote. “The Canadian government is currently re-evaluating the program.” He did not respond to further requests for comment.

Several aviation publications have reported that the Chinese military has still been unable to create its own copter engine and that it continues to rely on engines made by Pratt & Whitney.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which issued the export license, said Friday that it had no concerns about the way the engine sale was handled or the effectiveness of its export control program for technologies with potential military applications.

“Pratt & Whitney lived up to the conditions of the licenses,” said François Jubinville, a spokesman for the international trade minister. He added, “We’re pretty confident that our control system was used properly.”

When asked whether the system was working properly given that the engines had ultimately been put to military use, Mr. Jubinville replied, “The question should be asked to the Chinese.”

At Pratt & Whitney Canada, Mr. Hamelin wrote that the Pratt & Whitney engine, the PT6, was developed more than 40 years ago. “Over 25,000 PT6s are flying around the world on commercial applications,” he wrote.