Editing Gerald Bull (section)

===Sanctions contravention===
In 1977 and 1978, Bull orchestrated the illegal sale of 30,000 155&nbsp;mm artillery shells, gun barrels and plans for the [[GC-45 howitzer]] as well as radar equipment to [[Armscor (South Africa)|Armscor]], the South African state arms corporation; with two shipments made through Antigua in 1978 and another through Spain in 1979.{{sfn|Anon.|1979|p=52}} The [[South African Defence Force]]'s arsenal of vintage howitzers, antiquated by the arms embargo, had been outperformed by [[BM-21 Grad]]s during ''[[Operation Savannah (Angola)|Operation Savannah]]'' in 1975. In order to counter the modern Soviet artillery deployed in neighbouring [[Angola]], South African officials began seeking longer-ranged weapons systems and were referred to SRC. Armscor trialled the GC-45 with a new mounting to allow for increased powder loads and installed an [[auxiliary power unit]] for improving mobility in the field. The resulting [[G5 howitzer]] was vital to South African campaigns against [[Cuban intervention in Angola|Cuban expeditionary forces in Angola]], allowing them to target infrastructure and personnel with phenomenal accuracy.<ref name="Scholtz">{{cite book|last=Scholtz|first=Leopold|title=The SADF in the Border War 1966–1989|year=2013|publisher=Tafelberg|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-0-624-05410-8}}</ref> In addition, the urgent shipments were also meant to address the acute shortage of artillery shells due to their incursion into Angola.{{sfn|Anon.|1979|p=52}}

Once these shipments had been uncovered, Bull was arrested for illegal arms dealing in contravention of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 418|UN Security Council Resolution 418]] for arms export to South Africa. Expecting a token punishment, Bull found himself spending six months in the [[Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood|Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood, Pennsylvania]] in 1980.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tena|first=Starr|date=October 2009|title=Life and Work at Space Research|journal=Vermont's Northland Journal|volume=8|issue=7|page=7}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Bull and company president Rogers Gregory were sentenced to one year imprisonment of which six months was suspended. Space Research Corp US was also fined US$45,000.  Charges related to the export of 30,000 155mm artillery shells, two gun barrels and a radar tracking system – all of which were in contravention of the UN Arms Embargo on South Africa.  Fines were also raised for charges associated with false information being used on shipping and end-user documents. The charges and sentencing were based on guilty pleas by Bull, Gregory and SRC who threatened to implicate the CIA in their activities if the charges went before a grand jury leading to a public trial.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00806R000200970081-4.pdf CIA FOIA release: June 17, 1980]</ref>| group="Note"}} After his release, he was again charged (this time in Canadian courts) for transferring technology on 155mm extended range shell development to China without the necessary export permits<ref>{{cite news| work=The Boston Globe | title=Scientist arms-smuggler faces US scrutiny again| url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000100260067-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716165805/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000100260067-1.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-16 |url-status=live| date=24 June 1984 |author=Kranish, Michael}}</ref> and fined $55,000 for international arms dealing.<ref name="BBC Future"/>