K-8 Karakorum Allied Signal Garrett
AiResearch TFE-731 Engine
Allied Signal's TFE 731 turbofan engine is the premier business jet engine being flown in the United States today. The K-8 was planned to incorporate significant American content, including Garrett engines, and Collins and Magnavox avionics. The development of this project was jeopardized by US restrictions levied by the United States following the June 1989 Tienanmen Square massacre.
In August 1989, Allied Signal applied for an export license to sell a variant of the TFE-731, the TFE-731-2A-2A, to the PRC. Four engines and spare parts were to be shipped. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had certified the TFE-731-2A-2A as a "civil" engine. According to Iain S. Baird, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, the Commerce Department had licensing authority for the civil engine regardless of its military (i.e., the PLA's K-8 military aircraft) application.
The 1989 application for the export of the Garrett engines to the PRC raised concerns among officials at the Defense Technology Security Administration, which was the focal point for export policy guidance and license reviews within the Defense Department. A Defense Technology Security Administration technical analysis, for instance, indicated that the TFE-731-2A-2A had "some design and manufacturing technical data÷common to the TFE1042 and TFE1082," both of which are combat aircraft engines. Given this Defense Department judgment, a condition was placed by the Commerce Department on the export license for the TFE-731-2A-2As: "There is to be no transfer of engine design or manufacturing technical data provided with this transaction." The case was also reviewed by COCOM. Subsequently, the Commerce Department issued an Individual Validated License (number D032648) for the Garrett engines on May 30, 1990.
In December 1990, Allied Signal asked the Commerce Department for approval to sell an additional 15 TFE-731-2A-2A engines to the PRC. These engines were reportedly to be used for the first production run of the PLAÌs K-8 military aircraft, which were to be sold to Pakistan. The Defense Department and COCOM again reviewed the license application, and Defense requested conditions that would forbid the release of TFE-731-2A-2A "design methodology, hot section repair/overhaul procedures and manufacturing information."
On September 1, 1991, the Commerce Department published revisions to the Export Administration Regulations to reflect liberalized export controls that had been agreed to by the United States and its COCOM partners. The revised regulations decontrolled many jet engines, but continued to control exports of engines equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) systems. These militarily-sensitive systems control jet engine operations to permit, among other things, maximum propulsion performance for manned and unmanned military air vehicles. The TFE-731-2A-2A did not use a FADEC system, but instead used a less capable digital electronic engine controller (DEEC). For this reason, Allied Signal officials believed the TFE-731-2A-2A was completely decontrolled under the revised Export Administration Regulations and COCOM controls. The Commerce Department notified Allied Signal on November 25, 1991 that it had decontrolled the TFE-731-2A-2A entirely. Engine production technology could now be exported to the PRC without a license.
Allied Signal's partners in the Garrett engine transaction included the China National Aero-Technology Import-Export Corporation (CATIC), China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Company, and the China National South Aero-Engine and Machinery Company. A 1992 U.S. Government review of these proposed end users found that the export of Garrett engine production technology to the PRC could pose a national security threat to the United States. The review found that PRC co-production of Garrett TFE-731-2 engines would enable Beijing to develop higher quality turbojet and turbofan engines for use in military and civilian aircraft and in cruise missiles. PRC access to this production process would also give Beijing the means to extend the range of its cruise missiles. This was of special concern because PLA missiles, rockets, and aircraft are produced at facilities also used for civilian production.
