APPLICABILITY OF U.S. DEFENSE TRADE CONTROLS TO PRINTED BOARDS DECEMBER 12, 2012 Peter Lichtenbaum (202) 662-5557 plichtenbaum@cov.com Overview • Background on printed boards • Current ITAR controls • Export control reform 2 Printed Boards: What are they? What do they do? • Conductive printed wires attached to rigid, insulating sheet of fiberglass-reinforced polymer (aka “board” or “substrate”). • PCBs connect active components (microchips and transistors) and passive components (sensors and fuses) into an electronic assembly that controls a system. 3 Specially Designed Nature of Printed Boards “An important element of [printed boards] is that they are usually product-unique”. SOURCE: LINKAGES: MANUFACTURING TRENDS IN ELECTRONIC INTERCONNECTION TECHNOLOGY, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 2005 • Each printed board is specifically and uniquely designed for the products into which it is incorporated • Printed boards are not “COTS” products 4 Printed Board Designs • Electronic data file, often supplemented with drawings: provides roadmap for the electronic operation of the item for which it is designed • Materials used in circuit board construction including special properties functionality • Design and placement of parts and components • Designed flow of information through the circuit board, between components and to the system in which it is installed 5 Printed Boards are Vital to National Defense “The effectiveness of defense systems depends on the underlying PrCB [printed board] technology.” SOURCE: LINKAGES: MANUFACTURING TRENDS IN ELECTRONIC INTERCONNECTION TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 2005 6 Why the PCB is Important to National Security – The PCB is the basic building block for all military electronics. – It incorporates all the Intellectual Property that is contained in the design. – The information contained in the PCB data could be used to reverse-engineer our systems. – The PCB has become a functional part of the system on complex hardware like radar systems. – The designs and material selections on systems like Space Based Radar determine the performance of the system. 7 Military Significance of Printed Boards • • • • • • Electronic warfare systems Flight communication radios Integrated avionics Smart munitions fuse IED jammers and detectors Unmanned air and ground vehicles (UAVs and UGVs) 8 Printed Boards Contain Vital Intellectual Property in DoD Electronics AMRAAM Missile PBs PBs 9 Printed Boards Contain Vital Intellectual Property in DoD Electronics TRIDENT II U.S. Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile PBs 10 Example: Printed Boards for Flight Controls • Design of the printed boards for flight controls can reveal the data buses used in the controls • Data buses are the communications channels between the flight computer and the aircraft control surfaces • Access to data bus types can provide U.S. adversaries with information about potential weaknesses of the aircraft, including how sensitive the aircraft is to electronic disruption 11 Relevant ITAR Provisions • Category XI(c): “Components…specifically designed or modified for use with [XI(a) or (b) equipment], except for such items as are in normal commercial use” • Category VIII(h) components “specifically designed or modified” for items in VIII(a)-(d); other similar components categories in USML • Technical data that is “directly related” to these components: XI(d), VIII(i), etc. 12 Basic ITAR Approach • Export jurisdiction over the printed board, or the board design, depends on the product it is designed for: ITAR or EAR • Boards designed for defense articles generally presumed ITAR, until DDTC rules otherwise – Cat. XI(c) “normal commercial use” • Boards designed for EAR products are EAR, even if the EAR product will be installed on a defense platform 13 Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) Rulings • Limited information available publicly on DDTC site: post-2010, summary descriptions • Artwork “unpopulated circuit board” – XII(e) • Sensor Concepts circuit boards for reflectivity analysis system – XI(c) • Data Device Corp. PMC circuit card implementing data bus protocols (1553, ARINC429, RS-422) – EAR99 14 Proposed Cat. XI Rule (Nov. 28) • “Printed circuit boards or patterned multichip modules for which the layout is ‘specially designed’ for defense articles in this subchapter.” • “Technical data directly related to [such items]” • An important confirmation – But can the approach be further improved to provide greater clarity? 15 Comments and Questions? 16