State Department officials in charge of enforcing export controls of military technology were particularly miffed by a recent case of unlawful foreign transfers of night vision equipment.
Ruth Jackson, who works at State’s trade control licensing office, said she and her coworkers are big fans of night vision goggles, and were deeply bothered to find out that a U.S. company — ITT Corp. — had illegally shared sensitive technology with foreign nationals. The case was settled this summer, when ITT agreed to pay $100 million in penalties.
“Everyone in the office really loves all the night vision devices that come through,” Jackson said. “It really hurts me when a company gets into trouble … because the technology is just that special.”
In the wake of the ITT case, the State Department’s directorate of defense trade controls will ask all vendors of night vision technology to keep track of every piece of gear after it leaves U.S. shores. Companies will have to keep detailed records of the inventory and report back to the directorate every six months, said Jackson.
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