No Sellout in U.S.-Japanese F-16 Deal, Carlucci Asserts

Former Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci told a congressional panel today that the Pentagon did not sell out U.S. economic interests in agreeing to transfer to Japan technology for building an advanced version of the F-16 fighter.

“It is my judgment that the FSX represents a good deal for Japan, a good deal for the United States and an excellent deal for the U.S.-Japan security and industrial relationship,” Carlucci told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee.

He asserted that “in the end, much of the criticism of the FSX deal reflects an irrational fear of Japan’s technological prowess.”

Under the deal, St. Louis-based General Dynamics would join forces with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to co-develop and co-produce a next-generation fighter, called the FSX, for deployment by Japan in the late 1990s.

Proponents argue that the agreement represents the best deal the United States could negotiate in the face of Japanese opposition to buying F-16s directly from the United States. They say the deal will serve to promote beneficial technology transfer in both directions while generating income and jobs for U.S. industry.

Critics, however, contend that the arrangement amounts to a giveaway of advanced technology that Japan may use to help propel its civilian aircraft industry into head-to-head competition with the United States in the world market.

In the face of congressional criticism, the Bush Administration has been conducting an interagency review of the FSX deal before sending the agreement to Capitol Hill.