"Co-Production" and Dependency
Klare, Michael T.
Although America's technological "know-how" is considered a critical national resource whose dissemination must be tightly controlled, U.S. firms are increasingly participating in...
...The Pentagon is also worried that technology supplied to unstable regimes may someday fall into the hands of hostile or revolutionary forces...
...eng...
...Thus the growing U.S...
...some sold to Iran, Libya...
...For Japanese F-4EJ's JA75-6 T-58 turboshaft eng...
...Raytheon 22bt...
...Despite these qualms, American policymakers tend to perceive more benefits than liabilities in supporting such endeavors...
...174 1976 1977+ Will assemble 116 F16's AW&ST, for Belgian A.F., 58 7-19-76 for Danish A.F...
...The Department of Defense defines "co-production" as "any program wherein the U.S...
...3861 1963 1963+ $157m Includes M548 cargo JWS76...
...Similar projects are underway in a dozen other countries, and industry leaders suggest that such ventures will increasingly take the place of unilateral production schemes...
...to provide credits DoD-75 under FMS program SPAIN El Ferrol ship- DEG-7 class destroyer US Navy 5 1964 $300m U.S...
...According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the number of Third World nations producing at least some modem arms has grown from two in 1960 to 18 in 1974...
...Instead of promoting increased self-sufficiency, domestic arms ventures appear to be producing increased dependency on external suppliers...
...Thus, in their commitment to anti-communism, U.S...
...DoD-75 (undecided) PHM miss...
...2 This trend towards multinational arms production appears to contradict the tenor of U.S...
...carrier, M577 command DoD-75 post...
...Model 150 trainer Cessna 1971 1973+ JA75-6 RACA Model 500C helicopter Hughes 120 1972 1975+ JA75-6 AUSTRALIA Commonwealth Air- 206B Jet Ranger helic...
...Such links also permit U.S...
...Since many of the Third World's top leaders have been trained in American military institutions, it is hardly suprising that such views prevail...
...firms often realize more profit on coproduction projects than on direct sales of the same weapon...
...DoD-75 Philippines in credits under FMS program to build plant SINGAPORE (?) M-16 rifle WP, 4-14-74 SO...
...policy...
...patrol boat Boeing 6 1972 1977+ $121m DoD-76 INDONESIA LIPNUR (Indo- PL-2 light trainer Pazmany 60 1973 1973+ (Indonesian designa- JA75-6 nesian A.F...
...officials are naturally reluctant to approve coproduction projects that will result in reduced employment at home or increased competition for U.S...
...UH-IH...
...These partnerships have generally proved quite durable, and today Germany, Italy and Japan together account for half of all U.S...
...officials make no secret of their cognizance of this phenomenon: in a letter to then Vice President Spiro T. Agnew describing the Taiwanese F-5E project (a copy of which was obtained by the author under the Freedom of Information Act) Acting Assistant Secretary of State Marshall Wright affirmed that "the scope of the proposed co-assembly/coproduction project will not give the ROC [Republic of China] the independent technical capability to produce a complete aircraft...
...1 (January 1976...
...launcher Emerson- 1000 1976 $40m DoS, Industry Electric 2-5-76 Govt...
...and, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Yearbook 1975 (Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell, 1975), 204-17...
...Michael T. Klare 1. U.S...
...Korea Tacoma Ma- PG-class patrol boat Tacoma Boat- 6 1972 $16m 2 built in U.S., 3rd DoS, rine Industries building to be built in Korea 9-20-73 Govt...
...M-109 self-propelled 221 1968 $30m U.S...
...political influence abroad...
...2000.9, January 23, 1974, 2. 2. U.S...
...Bella 56 1971 1973+ For Australian Army JA75-6...
...rulers to get around some of the Congressional restrictions on direct arms sales by providing a secure, in-country source of weapons for favored regimes-including some which have come under attack for human rights violations and thus face a possible freeze on arms supplies...
...arms on a direct export basis, today they are being asked to sell their technological expertise as well as their finished products...
...A/A miss...
...By assisting in the development of foreign military industries, U.S...
...arms abroad...
...High-powered acquisi- JWS76 tion radar JAPAN Fuji Heavy UH-lH helicopter Bella 1973+ JA75-6 Industries Firebee-l target drone Teledyne 1970 1971+ JA75-6 Kawasaki Heavy P-2J Neptune ASW plane Lockheed 89 1959 1969+ Kawasaki redesign of JA75-6 Industries US P-2H aircraft OH-6J helicopter Hughes 135+ 1967 1969+ JA75-6 KV-107 helicopter Boeing 115+ 1961 1962+ Kawasaki derivative of JA75-6 the Boeing-Vertol 107 Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source Model 47 helicopter Bella 450+ 1953 1953+ The KH-4, variant duction a Kawasaki JA75-6 of #47, in prosince the 1960s...
...leaders disavowed one of the Allies' principal war aims-the demilitarization of the Axis powers...
...arms firms have in fact enhanced the U.S...
...battery miss...
...Lycoming For Agusta 204, 205 JA75-6 helicopters T55-11A turboshaft eng...
...72-74 For German CH-53G's JA75-6 Bodenseewerk AIM-9B Sidewinder US Navy 9000 1961+ For NATO air forces JA75-6...
...KOREA Oriental Pre- AN/PRC-77 radio E-Systems 9821 1974+ $8.4m DoD-75 cision Co...
...300 M113's sold to Libya...
...F-16 fighter G.D...
...for sales of light transport aircraft to Latin America, and Brazil has begun to export its Cascavel armored reconnaissance vehicle...
...The ROC will be dependent upon the U.S...
...5. For discussion, see Ulrich Albrecht, et...
...Joint development pro- JA75-6 ject...
...Most modern weapons are constructed of complex parts and materials whose fabrication exceeds the technical capabilities of the less developed countries, and which must therefore be imported from the developed countries...
...SH-3D (S-61...
...All this has profoundly altered the nature of U.S...
...Department of Defense Directive No...
...P&Wb 1972+ For Kawasaki C-1 military transport plane JA75-6 Mitsubishi Sparrow-III A/A miss...
...General Electric the US Senate.* A.F...
...Whereas previously firms sold "made in U.S.A...
...the Commando version has been sold to Saudi Arabia for use by Egypt aSubsidiary of Textron, Inc...
...123 1973 now $41m For Aeritalia G222...
...participation in such schemes can involve the transfer of blueprints, the supply of specialized manufacturing equipment, or even the delivery of complete factories...
...helicopter JWS76 Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975-76 A/S = air-to-surface m = millionSystems 1976 IDB = International Defense Business ASW = antisubmarine warfare McD-D = McDonnell-Douglas SIPRI = Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, bt...
...Since most Third World producers lack the tooling and equipment for complex production schemes, they must acquire them abroad...
...of Korea M-16 rifle Colt 600,000 1976+ $73m U.S...
...craft Corp...
...P&Wb 1968+ For Saab 37 Viggen JA75-6 fighter Saab-Scania Falcon A/A missile Hughes 1974+ To arm Saab J35F Drakken JA75-6 interceptor Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source TAIWAN AIDC (Aero- F-5E fighter Northrop 100 1972 1974+ $230m Mostly U.S...
...commitment to militarist regimes abroad-whether or not such links are consistent with official policy...
...firms account for at least 50 more such programs under direct commercial agreements...
...Next the country will begin to fabricate some of the components in local plants, usually with tools and equipment obtained from the licensor...
...5 1974 now $23m Italian version of U.S...
...3 And in the past three years alone, another dozen countries-including Iran, Greece, Egypt, Indonesia, the Phillipines, and South Korea-have announced plans to estab- lish major new armaments facilities of their own...
...missile Marietta JWS76 PAKISTAN Army Aviation 0-1 Bird Dog light (Cessna) 1970+ Being produced without JA75-6 Workshop plane license T-41D trainer Cessna 1975 SIPRI-76 (?) Model 500 helicopter 1975 SIPRI-75 Govt...
...General DynamicsoS = US Department of State, letter to the President of A/A = air-to-air G.D...
...GERMANY VFW-Fokker CH-53G helicopter Sikorskyb 110 1969 71-75 $312m For German Army DoD-75 (FRG) MTU (Motoren- und 379-17 turbojet eng...
...Indeed, it often happens that Third World production schemes produce the opposite results than those intended by their sponsors...
...Countries which only a few years ago were armed with the obsolete cast-offs of their more affluent patrons are now producing their own tanks, missiles and warships...
...4 ) But despite their sometimes lofty ambitions, these countries cannot establish sophisticated arms capability without substantial external support...
...448 1972+ For German F-4E's JA75-6 Turbinen-Union) T64 turboshaft eng...
...And U.S...
...Economically, such ventures often produce a steady demand for U.S...
...Military plants that had been dismantled by the Occupation authorities were now put back into operation, and U.S...
...General Electric JA75-6 = Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975-76 APC = armored personnel carrier helic...
...T64-10 turboprop eng...
...For, given the multi-staged "learning cycle" described earlier, Third World producers will always lag behind the advanced countries in the absorption of new technologies, and thus will continually be forced to import foreign components and materials if any degree of modernity in weapons capability is to be maintained...
...3. 4. SIPRI Yearbook 1975, 195...
...184 1976 1977+ $190m Will assemble 102 for AW&ST, Dutch A.F., 72 for 7-19-76 Norwegian A.F...
...According to documents acquired by the author under the Freedom of Information Act, the Pentagon is now engaged in 40 major co-production programs abroad, while U.S...
...After acquiring considerable experience in this kind of work, a country will attempt to assemble a foreign-designed weapon under license, using imported parts and materials...
...And while such allocations of scarce resources may appear frivolous to oustide observers, it is obvious that many Third World leaders are motivated by the26 belief-so dominant in the West-that national security and economic "progress" are both dependent on a high rate of technological advance in the military sector...
...And while many companies are naturally reluctant to export such skills-particularly when they might contribute to increased competition in the future -an increasing number are finding reasons to do so...
...strategists fear that growing arms self-sufficiency in the Third World will reduce Washington's control over some of its more ambitious and independent-minded clients...
...JA75-6 helicopter sold to forces of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, etc...
...The latter fear is not as far-fetched as it might appear: Israel is already competing with the U.S...
...now For Italian F-104S...
...JA75-6 sold to forces of Morocco, Kuwait, Spain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Zambia, etc...
...Such "co-production" ventures usually involve the licensed production of U.S.-designed weapons by foreign firms, or joint enterprises comprised of several firms (U.S...
...In some cases, such collaboration has been obtained through lucrative technical assistance contracts, and in others it has been made a condition for conventional arms purchases (as, for instance, when Brazil insisted on a share of F-5E production before agreeing to buy 42 of the aircraft...
...This analysis suggests that the switch from direct arms sales to military technology transfers enhances rather than diminishes U.S...
...arms firms were encouraged to collaborate with their resuscitated counterparts in production of advanced weapons...
...of Iran Model 214A helicopter Bella 400 1975 1977+ $125m Bell to build factory, AW&ST, train workforce 12-1-75 F-104S Starfighter Lockheed 205 1966 1968+ $641m 40 sold to Turkey Model 47 helicopter Bella 1952 1954+ JA75-6 AB-204B helicopter Bell (250) 1961-74 Similar to U.S...
...1972 1973+ $230m DoD-75 system T-63 turboshaft eng...
...Military Co-Production Projects Abroad Compiled by Michael Klare In U.S...
...arms unless Washington agrees to the transfer of some production work to the recipient's home industries...
...Lycoming 175+ 1967 now For Fuji UH-1H Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-4EJ Phantom fighter McD-D 118 1969 1972+ $700m DoD-75 S-61B helicopter Sikorskyb JA75-6 MIM-14C Nike-Hercules McD-D 555 1972 1973+ $189m DoD-75 S/A missile MIM-23 Hawk S/A miss...
...The giant F-16 fighter program, for instance, will involve the licensed production of Pratt & Whitney's F-100 jet engine in Belgium and the fabrication of other major components by a consortium of 85 firms in Holland, Denmark and Norway as well as in the United States...
...Although such threats would obviously be made only in extreme situations, the mere availability of this option affords considerable leverage...
...Lycoming For Italian CH-47 helic...
...T53-13 turboshaft eng...
...This trend has naturally resulted in the transfer of considerable military resources to selected foreign governments...
...Even relatively poor countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, are devoting substantial sums to these efforts...
...Industry officials argue, however, that many foreign governments are no longer willing to purchase U.S...
...and foreign) which agree to produce separate components of a common system...
...now For Agusta SH-3D,HH-3F JA75-6 Breda-Nardi NH-500M helicopter Hughes 1971 1974+ JA75-6 ITALY Aeritalia Agusta JA75-6 Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source ITALY Fiat J79-19 turbojet eng...
...firms are increasingly participating in multi-national schemes for the manufacture of advanced U.S...
...for all vital components and for technical support...
...There are, to begin with, the obvious economic problems raised by increased military production abroad...
...The Third World's chronic shortage of skilled technicians, moreover, has forced most fledgling producers to hire at least some foreign specialists in order to fill critical positions in the work force...
...While Europe and Japan will continue to attract the bulk of U.S...
...X, No...
...air force G.E...
...Typically, a country begins by performing overhaul and maintenance work on its imported weapons under the supervision of foreign specialists...
...engine P&W = Pratt & Whitney WP = ton Post FMS = Foreign Military Sales S/A = surface-to-air WS Wa Street Journal WSJ = Wall Street Journal...
...JA75-6 Selenia Argos-lO radar G.E...
...Fabrique Nationale F-100 turbofan engine P&Wb 1063 1976 1977+ $285m For European F-16's AW&ST, 8-30-76 BRAZIL EMBRAER (Empresa F-5E components Northrop 1974 1975+ A quid pro quo for AW&ST, Brasileira de, Brazilian purchase 1-6-75 Aeronautica) of 42 F-5E/F's FRANCE SNECMA CFM56 turbofan eng...
...goods and services that more than compensates for the loss in direct export sales...
...Since Britain and France emerged from the World War with their arms industires relatively intact, Washington naturally concentrated its coproduction efforts in the other major non-communist industrial countries: Germany, Italy, and Japan...
...Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source ARGENTINA Fabrica Milit r Model 182 light plane Cessna 1965 1966+ JA75-6 de Aviones (Argentine A.F...
...co-production projects abroad, an ever-increasing share of such work will be claimed by Third World countries...
...And since industrial equipment of this sort tends to be more expensive than finished manufactured goods, U.S...
...OH-58A...
...co- JA75-6 production with Fiat J85-13 turbojet eng...
...For, so long as a nation's general economic and social progress lags behind advances in military technology, it will be unable to acquire sufficient technical skills and resources to take over all the tasks performed by the foreign coproducer...
...enables an eligible foreign government, international organization or designated commercial producer to acquire the 'know-how' to manufacture or assemble, repair, maintain and operate, in whole or in part, a specific weapon, communication or support system, or an individual military item...
...Depending on the technological capability of the overseas producer, U.S...
...to supply AN/SQR- DoD-75 yard 23 radar, Tartar miss...
...to provide $16m...
...AW&ST = Aviation Week & Space Technology DoD = US Department of Defense, Offset and Co-Production ABBREVIATIONS: Programs (1975, 1976)* A/A = air-to-air GD...
...participation in domestic arms ventures of this sort has naturally produced considerable problems for U.S...
...For Kawasaki P-2J plane JA75-6 NETHERLANDS Fokker-VFW NF-5 fighter Northrop 105 $149m $149m Sublicense from Cana- DoD-75 dair, the Canadian licensee F-16 fighter G.D...
...The growing demand for U.S...
...now For Italian F-104S JA75-6 T64-P4D turboprop eng...
...of M-16 rifle Colt 150,000 1974 1975+ $30m U.S...
...Government...
...Allison (500) 1967 now For Kawasaki OH-6J JA75-6 helicopter JT8D-9 turbofan eng...
...SOURCES: bSubsidiary of United Technologies, Inc...
...THE ROOTS OF CO-PRODUCTION American firms first spawned co-production schemes in a big way in the early 1950's when the United States sought to mobilize its industrial allies for the global struggle against communism...
...Finally, U.S...
...producers in other markets...
...See, "The Pentagon's Proteges," NACLA'S Latin America & Empire Report, Vol...
...For, in the belief that arms self-sufficiency contributes both to national sovereignty and technological advance, more and more Third World governments are developing a domestic weapons capability...
...For Kawasaki KV-107, JA75-6 Mitsubishi S-61 helic...
...tion: LT-200) Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source IRAN Iran Electronics TOW miss...
...Additonal data from: John W. Taylor, ed., Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975-76 (New York: Franklin Watts, 1975...
...DoD-75...
...Meteor NVM-1, NVM-2, USD-l Northrop JA75-6 target drones OTO Melara M-113 series APC FMC Corp...
...Id C IshikawajimaHarima Heavy Industriea J79-17 turbojet eng...
...P&Wb 1976 1977+ $163m For European F-16 AW&ST, fabrik 7-19-76 AGM-12B Bullpup A/S Martin- For NATO air forces DoD-75...
...involvement in Taiwan's domestic arms program appears to contradict former President Nixon's 1972 pledge to reduce America's military commitment to Taiwan...
...V (1974), 173-85...
...SIPRI-75 BELGIUM Fairey, S.A...
...now For Aeritalia G91Y JA75-6 T58-10 turboshaft eng...
...Instead, these projects tend to result in a condition of permanent technological dependence which provides long-term economic and political benefits for the United States...
...From the politico-military standpoint, the results appear equally lopsided...
...Since the ostensible objective of such collaboration is to promote self-sufficiency, most coproduction projects of this sort normally proceed in a multi-phased "learning cycle" to permit a graduated take-over of production processes by indigenous personnel...
...of Pakistan AN/PRC-77 radio Cincinnati 1974+ IDB, Electric 2-24-75 PHILIPPINES Govt...
...air force G.E...
...Gradually more and more of the components will be produced locally until the weapon (still of foreign design) is entirely composed of indigenous components...
...The trend toward multinational arms production also has unforeseen effects on U.S...
...As part of the effort to fortify NATO, Washington agreed to share its new military skills with its more capable partners...
...al., "Armaments and Underdevelopment," Bulletin of Peace Proposals, Vol...
...JAPAN Kawasaki JA75-6 Quan- Agree- ProducCountry Producer Item Licensor tity ment tion Cost Comments Source NORWAY Kongsberg Vapen- F-100 turbojet eng...
...6. Letter from Acting Assistant Secretary of State Marshall Wright to Spiro T. Agnew, December 23, 1972 (copy acquired by Michael T. Klare under the Freedom of Information Act...
...co-production work abroad (in dollar terms...
...AB-212 helicopter Bell 1971+ Agusta produces an ASW JA75-6 variant, the 212AS SH-3D helicopter Sikorskyb 1965 1967+ For ASW...
...UH-lB JA75-6 AB-205A helicopter Bell now Similar to U.S...
...By threatening to cut off supplies of critical materials and components, Washington can imperil an entire production line representing many millions of dollars in initial investment...
...Co-production projects are authorized, according to the act, only when "such production best serves the foreign policy, national security and economy of the United States...
...All told, these ventures represent expenditures of over $8.5 billion in 1975 dollars, and new projects now getting underway-such as the $2 billion F-16 program-will double or triple these figures by 1980...
...UH-lH helicopter Bella 118 1972 1973+ $44m DoD-75 (?) T53-701A turboprop Lycoming 1974 $8.3m For AIDC TCH-1 trainer WSJ, engine 12-13-74 60th Govt...
...policymakers...
...Department of Defense, Offset and Co-Production Programs, unpublished memorandum obtained by Michael T. Klare under the Freedom of Information Act, December 30, 1975...
...CASA SF-5A fighter Northrop 70 1966 66-75 $101m DoD-75 SWEDEN Volvo Flygmotor JT8D-22 turbofan eng...
...AB-206B Jet Ranger Bell 1961 1972+ Similar to U.S...
...vehicle, Italian DoD-75 howitzer gun M-60A1 tank Chrysler 300 $67m DoD-75 Piaggio T53-13A turboshaft eng...
...military transfers to the Third World...
...Under Section 42 of the Foreign Military Sales Act, the president is enjoined to place "special emphasis" on direct procurement of finished weapons systems in the United States...
...sold to Iran JA75-6 HH-3F helicopter Sikorsky 1974+ For search & rescue JA75-6 CH-47C helicopter Boeing 1968 1970+ Co-production with SIAI JA75-6 Marcnetti, Meriaionalli Alfa Romeo J79-19 turbojet eng...
...M-14 rifle, M-60 US Army 1967 1967+ $12m DoD-75 Arsenal machine gun TURKEY 2.75-inch rocket 1972 $1.5m DoD-75 UNITED Hawker-Siddeley Sparrow A/A missile Raytheon 1972 British variant of US JWS76 KINGDOM design Westland Sea King helicopter Sikorskyb 1959 Westland redesign of JA75-6 U.S...
...General Dynamics the US Senate.* A.F...
...6 (Emphasis added...
...components DoD-75 Industry Development Center, PL-IB trainer Pazmany 55 1968 1970+ JA75-6 Chinese A.F...
...missile SIPRI Yearbook (1975, 1976...
...Raytheon 600 1972 1974+ To arm Japanese F-4EJ's JA75-6 Electric Co...
...DoD-75 Meridionali CH-47C helicopter Boeing 1968 1970+ Co-production with JA75-6 Agusta...
Vol. 11 • January 1977 • No. 1
