Boeing has been fined $51m by the US State Department for a number of export violations, including technical US military data being downloaded by Chinese employees in China.

An “extensive” compliance review into the company found that Boeing was responsible for 199 violations of the Arms Export Control Act.

This included the period 2013-17, which saw three Chinese employees at Boeing-run facilities in China downloading technical data related to the F-18, F-15 and F-22 fighter jets, the E-3 airborne warning and control system, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the AGM-84E cruise missile.

It also emerged that “an indeterminate number” of international employees and contractors at Boeing sites across countries, including Russia, downloaded technical data 80 times over five years.

All of the alleged violations were voluntarily disclosed, and a considerable majority predate 2020. The Department said Boeing had been cooperative and has since incorporated numerous improvements to its compliance...