[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5384-S5385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Mr. RISCH. Madam 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. James E. Risch,
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. 19-44
concerning the Navy's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and
Acceptance to the Government of Denmark for defense articles
and services estimated to cost $200 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,
Charles W. Hooper,
Lieutenant General, USA, Director.
Enclosures.
Transmittal No. 19-44
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: Government of Denmark.
[[Page S5385]]
(ii) Total Estimated Value:
Major Defense Equipment * $100 million.
Other $100 million.
Total $200 million.
(iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or
Services under Consideration for Purchase: The Government of
Denmark has requested to expand operational mission
capability of previously purchased nine (9) MH-60R Multi-
Mission helicopters, by equipping them with Anti-Submarine
Warfare (ASW) capabilities inherent in MH-60R design to
include the following items:
Major Defense Equipment (MDE): Nine (9) AN/AQS-22 Airborne
Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) Systems
Non-MDE: Also included are six hundred (600) AN/SSQ-36/53/
62 Sonobuoys; spare and repair parts; support and test
equipment; communication equipment; publications and
technical documentation; personnel training and training
equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering,
technical, and logistics support services; and other related
elements of logistical and program support.
(iv) Military Department: Navy (DE-P-LBT).
(v) Prior Related Cases, if any: DE-P-SAE and DE-P-GBP.
(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 Attached
Annex.
(viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: August 27, 2019.
*As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control
Act.
POLICY JUSTIFICATION
Denmark--Airborne Low Frequency Sonar System and Sonobuoys
The Government of Denmark has requested to buy nine (9) AN/
AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) systems; six
hundred (600) AN/SSQ-36/53/62 Sonobuoys; spare and repair
parts; support and test equipment; communication equipment;
publications and technical documentation; personnel training
and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor
engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and
other related elements of logistical and program support. The
total estimated program cost is $200 million.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and
national security objectives of the United States by helping
to improve the military capability of Denmark, a NATO ally
that is an important force for ensuring political stability
and economic progress within Europe.
The proposed sale will improve Denmark's capability to meet
current and future threats from enemy weapon systems. The
ALFS and Sonobuoys will provide the capability to perform
anti-submarine warfare missions. Denmark will use the
enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to
strengthen its homeland defense. Denmark will have no
difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.
The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not
alter the basic military balance in the region.
The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Rotary and
Mission Systems in Oswego, New York. There are no known
offset agreements in connection with this potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the
assignment of additional U.S. Government or contractor
representatives to Denmark.
There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness
as a result of this proposed sale.
Transmittal No. 19-44
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 AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) is the
primary undersea warfare sensor of the MH-60R multi-mission
helicopter. This integrated dipping sonar system enables the
MH-60R to accomplish the assigned Anti-Submarine Warfare
missions of submarine detection, tracking, localization, and
classification. It also performs missions relating to
acoustic intercept, underwater communications, and
environmental data acquisition. Acoustics algorithms are used
to process dipping sonar and sonobuoy data for target
tracking and for the Acoustics Mission Planner (AMP), which
is a tactical aid employed to optimize the deployment of the
sonobuoy and the dipping sonar. Acoustics hardware is
Unclassified. The acoustics system is classified up to Secret
when environmental and threat databases are loaded and/or the
system is processing acoustic data. ALFS hardware and support
equipment, test equipment, and maintenance spares are
unclassified. Technical data and documentation for the ALFS
weapon system is classified up to Secret.
2. The AN/SSQ-36 Bathythermograph (BT) sonobuoy is an A-
size, expendable and non-repairable sonobuoy. The BT sonobuoy
is an expendable thermal gradient measurement sonobuoy that
operates over Radio Frequency (RF) channels. It consists of a
thermistor temperature probe that descends through the bottom
of the sonobuoy canister, producing a continuous reading of
temperature versus depth, and transmits the readings to an
aircraft or nearby vessel. The thermistor temperature probe
can descend up to 2625 feet.
3. The AN/SSQ-53 Directional Frequency Analysis and
Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoy is an A-size, expendable and non-
repairable directional passive sonobuoy. Basic capabilities
include four hydrophone depth selections up to 1000 feet with
five time duration selections up to eight hours.
4. The AN/SSQ-62 Directional Command Activated Sonobuoy
System (DICASS) sonobuoy is an A-size, expendable, non-
repairable, directional active sonobuoy. The DICASS, in
conjunction with the monitoring unit's signal processing
equipment, provides active sonar range, bearing, and Doppler
information on a submerged contact. The DICASS sonobuoy is
designed to develop and maintain attack criteria. While often
employed in multiple sonobuoy patterns; the DICASS sonobuoy
is designed to permit single buoy attack criteria. The
flexibility inherent in the monitoring unit's control over
the various sonobuoy functions enables optimum sonobuoy
employment over a wide range of environmental and target
conditions.
5. If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain
knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the
information could be used to develop countermeasures, which
might reduce weapon system effectiveness or be used in the
development of a system with similar or advanced
capabilities.
6. A determination has been made that the recipient country
can provide substantially 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.
7. All defense articles and services listed in this
transmittal have been authorized for release and export to
Denmark.
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