[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 191 (Monday, December 2, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Mr. RISCH. 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. 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)(5)(C) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA),
as amended, we are forwarding Transmittal No. 19-0P. This
notification relates to enhancements or upgrades from the
level of sensitivity of technology or capability described in
the Section 36(b)(1) AECA certification 13-40 of July 9,
2013.
Sincerely,
Gregory M. Kausner,
(For Charles W. Hooper, Lieutenant General, USA, Director).
Enclosures.
Transmittal No. 19-0P
Report of Enhancement or Upgrade of Sensitivity of
Techonology or Capability (Sec 36(b)(5)(C), AECA)
(i) Prospective Purchaser: Government of France.
(ii) Sec 36(b)(1), AECA Transmittal No.: 13-40; Date: July
9, 2013; Military Department: Air Force.
(iii) Description: On July 9, 2013, Congress was notified
by Congressional certification transmittal number 13-40 of
the possible sale under Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export
Control Act of 16 MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft; 8
Mobile Ground Control Stations; 48 Honeywell TPE331-10T
Turboprop Engines (16 installed and 32 Spares); 24 Satellite
Earth Terminal Substations; 40 Ku Band Link-Airborne
Communication Systems; 40 General Atomics Lynx (exportable)
Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/
GMTI) Systems; 40 AN/DAS-1 Multi-Spectral Targeting System
(MTS)-B; 40 Ground Data Terminals; 40 ARC-210 Radio Systems;
40 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation
Systems; and 48 AN/APX-119 and KIV-119 Identify Friend or Foe
(IFF) Systems. Also provided are spare and repair parts,
communication, test, and support equipment, publications and
technical documentation, airworthiness and maintenance
support, site surveys and bed down planning, personnel
training and training equipment, operational flight test,
U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics
personnel services, and other related elements of logistics
support. The estimated total cost was $ 1.5 billion. Major
Defense Equipment (MOE) constituted $765 million of this
total.
On July 26, 2018, Congress was notified by Congressional
certification transmittal number 18-0B of the retrofit of MQ-
9s to become weapons capable, and the inclusion of 100 GBU-49
Enhanced Paveway dual mode GPS and laser guided bomb kits
comprised of MXU-650 Air Foil Group (AFG) and MAU-210
Enhanced Computer Control Group (ECCG); 200 FMU-152 fuzes;
650 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, with active warheads; 45 AGM-
114R Hellfire training missiles, without active warhead; and
6 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles. The retrofit and
inclusion of MDE not enumerated in the original notification
resulted in an increase in the cost of MDE by $210 million.
The new MDE cost was $975 million. The total case value
increased to $1.71 billion.
This transmittal reports the:
1) retrofit of four (4) MQ-9A Block 1 to MQ-9A Block 5;
2) addition of four (4) MQ-9A Block 5; and
3) addition of fourteen (14) Embedded GPS/INS (EGI) with
GPS Security Devices.
The MDE cost of these items is $80 million, resulting in a
new MDE cost of $1.055 billion. The total case value will
remain $1.71 billion.
(iv) Significance: This notification is being provided as
the retrofit of the MQ-9A systems and the inclusion of MDE
items not originally notified represent an increase in
capability over what was originally notified. This equipment
will provide France's MQ-9 program with the equipment
necessary to support the capability requested.
(v) Justification: This proposed sale will support the
foreign policy and national security of the United States by
helping to improve the security of a NATO ally which
continues to be an important force for political stability
and economic progress in Western Europe.
(vi) Sensitivity of Technology: The MQ-9A is a long-
endurance, medium altitude Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)
that can be used for surveillance, military reconnaissance,
and targeting missions. MQ-9A is capable of performing real-
time flown under the control of a pilot in a Ground Control
Station (GCS). A data link is maintained that uplink commands
and downlink video with telemetry data. The data link can be
a Line-of-Sight (LOS) CB and communication or Beyond Line-of-
Sight (BLOS) Ku-Band Satellite Communication (SATCOM).
Aircraft can be handed off to other strategically placed
ground control stations. The MQ-9A is designed to carry 800
pounds of internal payload with maximum fuel and can carry
multiple mission payload aloft such as kinetics, Electro-
Optical/Infrared (EO/IR), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and
other laser target designators. Block 5 includes a redesigned
forward avionics bay, NSA Type 1 encrypted data links,
enhanced power, dual wing-tip ARC-210 radios, payload control
computer, enhanced HMI and payload control in GCS.
(vii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: November 22, 2019.
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