Contractor: China owns same aircraft

FLORENCE - A prosecution witness in the trial of a Huntsville defense contractor who is accused of illegally sharing with Chinese manufacturers technical drawings for a military helicopter part testified Thursday that many foreign governments, including China, own the same aircraft.

Jay Merkel, chief of the utility division for the Army Aviation Engineering Directorate, testified during cross-examination by defense attorneys that the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter is used by military units around the world. "I know that China has several Blackhawks," he said.

James Nooredin Latifi, 59, president of Huntsville-based Axion Corp., is accused of illegally exporting technical drawings for a weight used on the rotor blades of Blackhawk helicopters to manufacturers in China without first obtaining a license and authorization from the State Department.

Latifi's trial began Monday in U.S. District Court in Florence. Attorneys had hoped to complete the nonjury trial this week, but now say it will last longer. The trial will move to Birmingham next week.

During cross-examination, Merkel testified that the blueprints Axion used to produce the technical drawings Axion shared with Chinese engineers failed to contain a warning that they were not to be exported to other countries.

During direct-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Estes, Merkel testified that parts used on military aircraft often contain restrictions such as not allowing foreign manufacturers to see technical drawings for the part.

"I know there are export controls, especially on the parts associated with the Army," he said.

Merkel testified that the bifilar weight assembly that Latifi is accused of exporting technical drawings for to China, is designed specifically for the Blackhawk helicopter.

James Hopkins, a mechanical design engineer who briefly worked as a contract employee for Axion Corp. in 2003, testified that when Latifi asked him to create a simplified technical drawing for the weight assembly, he initially had some concerns.

He said he was worried Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, which created the original drawing for the part, might have restrictions on who could copy or see the blueprint.

"There was a time that as a precautionary measure, I mentioned to make sure there were no restrictions on the information," Hopkins testified during questioning by the prosecution.

Hopkins testified he contacted Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. to ask if there were any restrictions about making a simplified version of the drawing.

"I found a number for the man at Sikorsky who had made the original drawings and called him to ask if it would be OK for us to make a drawing. He said he did not see any problem with it," Hopkins said.

Hopkins said the original drawings listed no restrictions about exporting the plans to foreign manufacturers.

Latifi is also accused of lying to Army officials about the origin of aircraft parts used in a military contract and submitting false documents about tests conducted on a shock absorber used on a tank retrieval vehicle.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.