The US Department of State announced on Friday that it has imposed a $200 million fine on the American defense contractor RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies) for violating US export controls by sharing data and products with prohibited countries, including China, Russia, and Iran.
According to the State Department, RTX voluntarily disclosed violations across several of its business units, which conflicted with export restrictions, particularly those related to defense technology.
The company, which was formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, admitted to these breaches and expressed regret, as noted in a settlement document reported by Bloomberg.
The fine includes a conditional reduction: $100 million of the penalty will be suspended if RTX allocates the funds towards corrective compliance measures.
One of the breaches involved sharing sensitive information with Chinese nationals during a demonstration of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet in Shanghai, revealing more critical details than initially understood by RTX employees.
RTX was formed from the merger of Rockwell Collins, an aerospace and defense systems manufacturer based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and United Technologies in 2018.
The merger with Raytheon in 2020 resulted in the formation of RTX. The State Department noted that RTX used Chinese suppliers to provide printed circuit boards for some of the US military’s most significant aircraft, including the presidential aircraft, A-10 Thunderbolt, F/A-18 Hornet, and KC-130 Tanker.
The company transmitted US technical data to China for manufacturing electronic components and did not notify the Department of Defense about the Chinese origin of these components for months or, in some cases, years after delivery. The government found that some technology transfers provided China with insights it would not have otherwise obtained regarding models of aircraft used by the U.S. Navy and its allies.
Additionally, the State Department reported that Raytheon, now a unit of RTX, exported specific parts and technical data to friendly nations such as Canada, Japan, the UK, and South Korea without authorization.
The department also highlighted incidents where RTX employees took company laptops containing sensitive data to Lebanon, Russia, and Iran.
The State Department noted that RTX cooperated with its investigations and invested substantial resources in its export compliance program, factors which contributed to mitigating the fine.
In July, RTX disclosed that it had set aside $1.24 billion to resolve various government investigations, including one related to bribery.
