Senators Seek To Exclude UTC from Defense Contracts

There will be blood, at least if two senior U.S. senators have their way. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) are asking the Defense Department to bar United Technologies, parent of helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky and engine maker Pratt & Whitney, from future defense contracts. Pratt & Whitney Canada already has agreed to pay a $75 million fine and comply with independent monitoring after selling civilian software to China for use in that country’s Z-10 military attack helicopter, a violation of various export laws. The senators represent states that are home to two key P&WC competitors: Honeywell in Arizona and Williams International in Michigan.