Wilmington companies accused of sending China blueprints for rocket technology

Jamey Cross, Wilmington StarNews
·1 min read
Three Wilmington-based companies are temporarily prohibited from exporting goods after the U.S. government says they threatened national security.
Three Wilmington-based companies are temporarily prohibited from exporting goods after the U.S. government says they threatened national security.

Three Wilmington-based companies are temporarily prohibited from exporting goods after the U.S. government says they threatened national security.

A temporary denial order was issued Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security accusing Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc., Rapid Cut LLC and U.S. Prototype Inc. of illegally sending 3D blueprints and technical drawings to China.

The three companies are based on Market Street and provide 3D printing services to customers, including manufacturers of space and defense technology.

According to the Bureau of Industry and Security, the companies exported technical drawings and blueprints used for 3D printing satellite, rocket and defense-related prototypes to China — presumably to cut costs — without U.S. government approval.

“Outsourcing 3-D printing of space and defense prototypes to China harms U.S. national security,” said Matthew Axelrod, an assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement, in a news release on Wednesday. “By sending their customers’ technical drawings and blueprints to China, these companies may have saved a few bucks — but they did so at the collective expense of protecting U.S. military technology.”

The order alleges these illegal transfers occurred in 2017, 2020 and 2021, and prohibits the three companies from exporting or receiving exports for 180 days.

Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc., Rapid Cut LLC and U.S. Prototype Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Last year the U.S. State Department and North Carolina-based defense firm Honeywell reached a $13 million settlement over allegations the manufacturer exported portions of technical drawings for F-35 jet fighters and other weapons, between 2011 and 2015, to China, Taiwan, Canada and Ireland.

Jamey Cross is the public safety reporter at the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross. 

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: US Government: Wilmington companies illegally exporting to China