Since Kosovo, the US Government has endured the litany of export licensing failures and fiascos paraded before Congress by those for and against modernisation of the USA's Cold War-era arms control legislation.
Tales told by both camps have ranged from the US refusal to export rescue flares to Italy during Operation Allied Force, to the illegal transfer of rocket technology to China by US companies investigating satellite launch failures.
Then, in late May, the Government acted, unveiling a series of measures designed to streamline the US export control system. The reforms represent a victory for the US Department of Defense (DoD), which has been pushing for changes since the impact of US export controls on NATO interoperability became glaringly obvious over Kosovo.
"It's time we quit sticking our fingers in the eyes of our allies," says David Oliver, US principal deputy undersecretary of defence for acquisition and technology. Oliver hopes the reforms will make the USA a more reliable ally and encourage creation of a single NATO-wide defence market and industrial base.
The US Defence Trade Security Initiative will streamline export controls by reducing the number of licences required and speeding up their processing. The reforms are designed to support NATO's Defence Capabilities Initiative by expediting the transfer of technologies required to close the capabilities gap highlighted by Kosovo. Under the reforms, the UK and Australia, the USA's closest allies, will be exempted from most export controls, paving the way for closer industrial co-operation.
US industry has welcomed the reforms, which it sees as helping level the export playing field. US Government reluctance to transfer technology has endangered a number of arms deals. Even if they do not provide open access to US technology, the reforms promise a more logical and reliable licensing environment.
Meanwhile, Europe is not without its own export control anomalies. While the Eurofighter partners have agreed that no one government can block a Typhoon sale, the approvals process has pitfalls that need to be addressed.
Source: Flight International