01 May 15. Kolon Industries Inc. Pleads Guilty for Conspiring to Steal DuPont Trade Secrets Involving Kevlar Technology. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Kolon Industries Inc., a South Korean industrial company, hands pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to conspiracy to steal trade secrets involving E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.’s (DuPont) Kevlar technology. The company was sentenced to pay $85 million in criminal fines and $275m in restitution. Kolon Industries Inc., appearing through two successor entities—Kolon Industries Inc. and Kolon Corporation (collectively, Kolon)—pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to convert trade secrets before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia. According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from June 2006 to February 2009, Kolon conspired with former DuPont employees and others to steal DuPont’s trade secrets for making Kevlar, a high-strength, para-aramid synthetic fiber. Kevlar, a trademarked name, is one of DuPont’s most well-known products and is used is a wide range of commercial applications such as body armor, fiber optic cables, and automotive and industrial products. Kolon admitted that it was attempting to improve the quality of its own para-aramid fiber known as Heracron. Kolon personnel met repeatedly with former DuPont employees, including Edward Schulz, 72, of Brownstown, Pennsylvania, and Michael Mitchell, 58, of Chesterfield, Virginia, to obtain confidential and proprietary DuPont information about Kevlar. Schulz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal trade secrets in September 2014 and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, 2015. Mitchell pleaded guilty to theft of trade secrets and obstruction of justice in December 2009 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Kolon admitted that it obtained technical and business documents regarding Kevlar, including instructional materials that described DuPont’s “New Fiber Technology,” documents on polymerization, and a detailed breakdown of DuPont’s capabilities and costs for the full line of its Kevlar products and DuPont’s Kevlar customers. (Source: glstrade.com)
29 Apr 15. Navy Moving Closer to Acquiring Devastating Ship-Killing Stealth Missiles. Top defense contractors are poised to compete in a major industry battle to develop autonomous missiles for the U.S. Navy that can kill enemy ships at sea and demolish air-defense radar sites inland. Although the Navy has so far released few details on what it plans to buy, missile manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing are keeping a close eye on a program the Navy has dubbed “next-generation strike capability.” The Navy is seeking funds in its 2016-2020 budget to begin the development of next-generation strike weapons, with the goal to start an industry competition in fiscal year 2017. But the Navy has yet to settle on specific requirements. In about a decade or so, the next-generation strike capability, or NGSC, would supplement or replace the current Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles. What remains unknown is whether next-generation strike will be a single missile or a mix of weapons that would include ship killers and land-strike missiles that would target enemy air defenses deep inland. The decision to move forward with next-generation strike comes after years of internal debate on how the Navy should arm itself for potential maritime wars against rising powers like China. (Source: glstrade.com/National Defense)
01 May 15. There are growing indications that the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be Gen. Joseph Dunford, the commandant of the Marine Corps. Nothing is official, but Dunford appears to have emerged as the likely choice of the Obama administration to succeed Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as the nation’s top uniformed official. Less clear is the name of the next vice chairman, but sources have indicated the favorite is Air Force Gen. Paul S