[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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