Northrop Grumman CEO Warns US Could Lose Industry Lead

The general aviation manufacturing sector in the US increasingly struggles to compete in the world marketplace due to the delays and costs of federal regulation, but it's far from alone in that plight. Robotics developers, particularly those developing unmanned aerial systems and other unmanned weapons, say the US now risks losing its lead in the field to clumsy congressional meddling.

Northrop Grumman President and CEO Wes Bush was a keynote speaker at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Conference in Washington, DC Wednesday. He warned, "Today’s export restrictions are hurting this industry in the US without making us any safer, and it could cause the US to relinquish the cutting edge to other countries, ultimately."

The specific rules at issue are called ITAR within the industry, which stands for International Traffic in Arms Regulations. They're designed to keep US technology from falling into enemy hands, but they sometimes prevent US companies from equipping our allies. Bush says that could cost the US defense industry, one of the few left with a positive balance of trade, $94 billion over the next decade if nothing changes.

National Defense magazine reports Bush noted it wouldn't be the first time. "We made it impossible for US companies to sell satellites to our allies. We somehow thought that we had a corner on that technology—satellites—but we were very badly mistaken. The very policies that were intended to keep this technology secure for us actually encouraged others...to develop their own...they even market their products as ITAR-free. America lost valuable export opportunities and we are no safer as a result. We need to learn from that lesson and several other lessons just like it."

Regarding Obama administration attempts to reform the overbearing laws, and recent cooperation on UAS with NATO allies, Bush concluded on an optimistic note. "These are positive indicators that perhaps we will not make the mistakes that were made in satellites. But we need to continue to push collectively."

FMI: www.pmddtc.state.gov/regulations_laws/itar_official.html