[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 43 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control
Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain
proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification,
the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be
reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the
notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant
information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to
have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received.
If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is
available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations
Committee, room SD-423.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Defense Security
Cooperation Agency,
Arlington, VA.
Hon. Bob Corker,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Pursuant to the reporting requirements
of Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as
amended, we are forwarding herewith Transmittal No. 16-81,
concerning the Department of the Army's proposed Letter(s) of
Offer and Acceptance to Singapore for defense articles and
services estimated to cost $66 million. After this letter is
delivered to your office, we plan to issue a news release to
notify the public of this proposed sale.
Sincerely,
J.W. Rixey,
Vice Admiral, USN, Director.
Enclosures.
Transmittal No. 16-81
Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to
Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as
amended
(i) Prospective Purchaser: Singapore.
(ii) Total Estimated Value:
Major Defense Equipment* $42 million.
Other $24 million.
Total $66 million.
(iii) Description and Ouantity or Ouantities of Articles or
Services under Consideration for Purchase:
Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
Two thousand (2,000) XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar
Initiative (APMI) rounds.
Non-MDE includes: U.S. Government and contractor services,
mortar tube compatibility testing and/or modification, and
other associated support equipment and services.
(iv) Military Department: Army (VGG).
(v) Prior Related Cases, if any: None.
(vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed
to be Paid: None.
(vii) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense
Article or Defense Services Proposed to be Sold: See Annex
Attached.
(viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: March 13, 2017.
*As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control
Act.
POLICY JUSTIFICATION
Government of Singapore--XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative
(APMI) Rounds
The Government of Singapore has requested a possible sale
of two thousand (2,000) XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar
Initiative (APMI) rounds; U.S. Government and contractor
services; and other associated support equipment and
services. The total estimated cost is $66 million.
This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy
and national security of the United States by helping to
improve the security of a friendly country which has been,
and continues to be an important partner and force for
political stability and economic progress in the Asia Pacific
region.
The Government of Singapore intends to use these defense
articles and services to modernize its armed forces to meet
current and future threats, to strengthen its homeland
defense, and to provide greater security for its economic
infrastructure. The Government of Singapore will have no
difficulty absorbing XM395 APMI mortar rounds into its armed
forces.
The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not
alter the basic military balance in the region.
The prime contractor will be Orbital ATK. There are no
known offset agreements proposed in connection with this
potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale will require U.S.
Government personnel or U.S. contractor representatives to
travel to Singapore for a period of one (1) week for
equipment fielding and acceptance testing by the Quality
Assurance Team.
There will be no adverse impact on US. defense readiness as
a result of this proposed sale.
Transmittal No. 16-81
Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to
Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act
Annex Item No. vii
(vii) Sensitivity of Technology:
1. The XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI)
is a Global Position System (GPS), Precise Positioning
Service (PPS) guided 120mm high explosive mortar cartridge
capable of enemy defeat with low collateral damage. It
utilizes a Precision Light-Weight Universal Mortar Setting
System (PLUMSS) that contains an Improved Platform
Integration kit (iPIK) to load GPS coordinates, mission
trajectory and fuze mode data into the mortar round. The GPS
PPS crypto key is loaded into the iPIK by system key loader
PYQ-10. Both the XM395 and the iPIK contain a Selective
Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM). The XM395 has 90%
commonality with the Army's M1156 Precision Guided Kit. The
overall system classification is SECRET.
2. XM395 utilizes the Army's M782 Multi-Option for
Artillery (MOFA) Proximity Height of Burst (HOB) Technology.
The HOB sensor is comprised of components with technologies
deemed as state of the art, requiring specialized production
skills. The sensitive/critical technology is primarily in the
design, development, production and manufacturing of the
components (integrated circuits and assembly), and the
integration methodology required to integrate those
components onto an assembly to process embedded data (the
software--algorithm--working parameters). The overall system
classification is SECRET.
3. Disclosure of this technology could result in an
adversary developing countermeasures, thus lessening the
effect of the projectile. Disclosure of test data,
countermeasures, vulnerability/susceptibility analyses, and
threat definition could allow reverse engineering and use by
an adversary for possible use against U.S. and Coalition
forces. Compromise could jeopardize the U.S. inventory
through jammer development by adversaries. The risk of
compromise has been assessed as moderate. Risk is reduced for
fuze/munitions if adequately controlled and protected in
storage and on the battlefield. Risk is mitigated by the
prevention of disclosure of sensitive classified information
(the know-how, software, and associated documentation).
4. A determination has been made that the recipient country
can provide the same degree of protection for the sensitive
technology being released as the U.S. Government. This sale
is necessary in furtherance of the U.S. foreign policy and
national security objectives outlined in the Policy
Justification.
5. All defense articles and services listed in this
transmittal have been authorized for release and export to
Singapore.
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