[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.

                          ____________________