[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6643-S6644]
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,
     Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Pursuant to the reporting requirements 
     of Section 36(b)(I) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
     amended, we are forwarding herewith Transmittal No. 20-74 
     concerning the Air Force's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative 
     Office in the United States (TECRO) for defense articles and 
     services estimated to cost $600 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,
                                                   Heidi H. Grant,
                                                         Director.
       Enclosures:


                         Transmittal No. 20-74

     Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to 
         Section 36(b)(I) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
         amended
       (i) Prospective Purchaser: Taipei Economic and Cultural 
     Representative Office in the United States (TECRO).
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment * $153 million.
       Other $447 million.
       Total $600 million.
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase:
       Major Defense Equipment (MOE):
       Four (4) Weapons-Ready MQ-98 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Two 
     (2) Fixed Ground Control Stations.
       Two (2) Mobile Ground Control Stations.
       Fourteen (14) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial 
     Navigations Systems
  (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) (12 
installed, 2 spares).
       Non-MOE: Also included are MX-20 Multi-Spectral Targeting 
     Systems and spares; Sea Vue Maritime Multi-Role Patrol 
     Radars; SAGE 75(ESM) Systems; C-Band Line-of-Sight (LOS) 
     Ground Data Terminals; Ku-Band SA TCOM GA-ASI Transportable 
     Earth Stations (GATES); AN/DPX-7 IFF Transponders; Honeywell 
     TPE-331-1 OGD Turboprop Engines; M6000 UHF/VHF Radios; KIV-77 
     Mode 5 IFF cryptographic appliques; AN/PYQ-1 OC Simple Key 
     Loaders; secure communications, cryptographic and 
     Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment; initial spare 
     and repair parts; hard points, power, and data connections 
     for weapons integration; support and test 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: Air Force (TW-D-SAQ).
       (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 Attached 
     Annex.
       (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: November 3, 2020.
       *As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          POLICY JUSTIFICATION

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States 
                (TECRO)--MQ-98 Remotely Piloted Aircraft

       TECRO has requested to buy four (4) Weapons-Ready MQ-9B 
     Remotely Piloted Aircraft; two (2) Fixed Ground Control 
     Stations; two (2) Mobile Ground Control Stations; and 
     fourteen (14) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial 
     Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-
     Spoofing Module (SAASM) (12 installed, 2 spares). Also 
     included are MX-20 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems and 
     spares; SeaVue Maritime Multi-Role Patrol Radars; SAGE 750 
     Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) Systems; C-Band Line-
     of-Sight (LOS) Ground Data Terminals; Ku-Band SA TCOM GA-AS! 
     Transportable Earth Stations (GA TES); AN/DPX-7 IFF 
     Transponders; Honeywell TPE-331-1 OGD Turboprop Engines; 
     M6000 UHF/VHF Radios; KIV-77 Mode 5 IFF cryptographic 
     appliques; AN/PYQ-1 OC Simple Key Loaders; secure 
     communications, cryptographic and Identification Friend or 
     Foe (IFF) equipment; initial spare and repair parts; hard 
     points, power, and data connections for weapons integration; 
     support and test 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 $600 million.
       This proposed sale is consistent with U.S. law and policy 
     as expressed in Public Law 96-8.
       This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and 
     security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing 
     efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a 
     credible defensive capability. The proposed sale will help 
     improve the security of the recipient and assist in 
     maintaining political stability, military balance, economic 
     and progress in the region.
       This proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability 
     to meet current and future threats by providing timely 
     Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (JSR), target 
     acquisition, and counter-land, counter-sea, and anti-
     submarine strike capabilities for its security and defense. 
     The capability is a deterrent to regional threats and will 
     strengthen the recipient's self-defense. The recipient will 
     have no difficulty absorbing these systems 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 General Atomics 
     Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, CA. The purchaser 
     typically requests offsets. Any offset agreement will be 
     defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the 
     contractor.

[[Page S6644]]

       Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the 
     assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor 
     representatives to the recipient.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 20-74

     Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to 
         Section 36(b)(I) of the Arms Export Control Act

                           Annex Item No. vii

       (vii) Sensitivity of Technology:
       1. The MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) is a weapons-
     ready aircraft designed for Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance 
     (MALE) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), 
     Target Acquisition, and Strike Missions. The MQ-9B RPA is not 
     a USAF program of record but has close ties to, and builds 
     upon, the proven success of the MQ-9A Reaper. The MQ-9B is a 
     highly modular, easily configurable aircraft that contains 
     the necessary hard points, power, and data connections to 
     accommodate a variety of payloads and munitions to meet 
     multiple missions--including counter-land, counter-sea, and 
     anti-submarine strike operations. The system is designed to 
     be controlled by two operators within a Certifiable Ground 
     Control Station (CGCS). The CGCS is designed to emulate a 
     reconnaissance aircraft cockpit, giving users extensive means 
     to operate both the aircraft and sensors. The MQ-9B is able 
     to operate using a direct Line-of-Sight (LOS) datalink or 
     Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) through satellite communications 
     (SA TCOM). The MQ-9B system can be deployed from a single 
     site that supports launch/recovery, mission control, and 
     maintenance. The system also supports remote-split operations 
     where launch/recovery and maintenance occur at a Forward 
     Operating Base and mission control is conducted from another 
     location or Main Operating Base (MOB).
       2. The Ground Control Station (GCS) can be either fixed or 
     mobile. The fixed GCS is enclosed in a customer-specified 
     shelter. It incorporates workstations that allow operators to 
     control and monitor the aircraft, as well as record and 
     exploit downlinked payload data. The mobile GCS allows 
     operators to perform the same functions and is contained on a 
     mobile trailer. Workstations in either GCS can be tailored to 
     meet customer requirements.
       3. The Embedded GPS-INS (EGI) with Selective Availability 
     Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) is a self-contained navigation 
     system that provides the following: acceleration, velocity, 
     position, attitude, platform azimuth, magnetic and true 
     heading, altitude, body angular rates, time tags and 
     coordinated universal time (UTC) synchronized time. SAASM 
     enables the GPS receiver access to the encrypted P(Y) signal 
     providing protection against active spoofing attacks.
       4. The AN/DPX-7 is an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) 
     Transponder used to identify and track aircraft, ships, and 
     some ground forces to reduce friendly fire incidents.
       5. The MX-20 Multi-Spectral Targeting System is a multi-use 
     highly advanced EO/IR sensor that provides long-range 
     surveillance, high altitude, target acquisition, tracking, 
     range finding, and laser designation for all NATO and tri-
     service laser guided munitions, enabling precision-strike 
     against a variety of land and maritime targets.
       6. Sea Vue Maritime Multi-Role Patrol Radar is a synthetic 
     aperture X-band radar that provides small-target maritime 
     detection in high seas, maritime search (including submarine 
     periscopes and semi-submersibles), radar imaging of ocean 
     targets, and weather detection and avoidance.
       7. The SAGE 750 Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) 
     System is a UK-produced digital electronic intelligence 
     (ELINT) sensor which analyzes the electromagnetic spectrum to 
     map the source of active emissions. Using highly accurate 
     Direction Finding (DF) antennas, SAGE builds target locations 
     and provides situational awareness, advance warning of 
     threats and the ability to cue other sensors.
       8. The C-Band Line-of-Sight (LOS) Ground Data Terminals and 
     Ku-Band SA TCOM GA-ASI Transportable Earth Stations (GA TES) 
     provide command, control, and data acquisition for the MQ-98.
       9. The Honeywell TPE-331-10-GD Turboprop Engine is used in 
     a variety of airborne platforms including the MQ-98.
       10. The M6000 UHF/VHF Radio is a multi-band, portable, two-
     way communication radio.
       11. The KIV-77 Mode 5 crypto applique computer for IFF is 
     Type I certified by the National Security Agency and provides 
     information assurance for Mode 5 IFF equipment. The KIV- 77 
     is used to store the classified keys.
       12. The AN/APQ-IOC Simple Key Loader is a handheld fill 
     device for securely receiving, storing, and transferring data 
     between cryptographic and communications equipment.
       13. The highest level of classification of information 
     included in this potential sale is SECRET.
       14. If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain 
     knowledge of the hardware and software elements, the 
     information could be used to develop countermeasures or 
     equivalent systems, which might reduce system effectiveness 
     or be used in the development of a system with similar or 
     advanced capabilities.
       15. A determination has been made that the recipient 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.
       16. All defense articles and services listed in this 
     transmittal have been authorized for release and export to 
     the recipient

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