WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department is charging Lockheed Martin Corp. with giving a state-owned Chinese conglomerate a scientific assessment of a Chinese-made satellite motor in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
In a letter dated Tuesday, the State Department's Office of Defense Trade Controls told the company it has 30 days to respond to civil charges that could result in a fine as high as $15 million and a ban on satellite technology exports for up to three years.
The Washington Post, The Washington Times and The New York Times reported in today's editions that the State Department's letter charges Lockheed with 30 separate violations of federal export controls.
The Times said it was supplied the letter by company officials, who denied the charges and vowed to contest them.
Lockheed Martin spokesman James L. Fetig denied the Bethesda, Maryland-based company had violated export laws, saying it had obtained a Commerce Department license before assessing the satellite motor, the Post said.
"National security was not harmed, and it is our understanding that there is no criminal violation involved and no criminal charges pending," Fetig told the Post.
The charges involve a team of scientists Lockheed sent to China in 1994 to assess a rocket motor that Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. planned to use in launching a communications satellite.
After completing its study, Lockheed forwarded 10 copies of a 50-page assessment to Asiasat. In one charge, the State Department said the company sent an unedited version to Asiasat before Defense Department export control officials reviewed the document to remove sensitive information.
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