[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7133-S7134]
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)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
     amended, we are forwarding herewith Transmittal No. 20-84 
     concerning the Army's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to the Government of Croatia for defense articles 
     and services estimated to cost $757.0 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. 20-84

     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 Croatia.
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment * $218.0 million.
       Other $539.0 million.
       Total $757.0 million.
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase: The U.S. 
     Government has offered Croatia, under the grant Excess 
     Defense Articles (EDA) program, eighty-four (84) M2A2 
     Operation Desert Storm (ODS) Bradley Fighting vehicles in as-
     is, where is condition. This notification is for 
     refurbishment/modernization and support of seventy-six (76) 
     of the vehicles consisting of:
       Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
       Eighty-four (84) M240 Machine Guns.
       One thousand one hundred three (1,103) TOW 2A Radio 
     Frequency (RF) Missiles.
       Sixteen (16) TOW 2A Radio Frequency (RF) Fly-to-Buy Lot 
     Acceptance Missiles.
       One hundred (100) TOW 28 Radio Frequency (RF) Missiles.
       Eight (8) TOW 2B Radio Frequency (RF) Fly-to-Buy Lot 
     Acceptance Missiles.
       Five hundred (500) TOW Bunker Buster (BB) Radio Frequency 
     (RF) Missiles.
       Eight (8) TOW BB Fly-to-Buy Lot Acceptance Missiles.
       Non-MDE: Also included are M257 Smoke Grenade Launchers; 
     ammunition; radios; simulator; special armor; Hunter/Killer 
     technology, which may include an exportable Commander's 
     Independent Viewer (CIV); spare and repair parts; support 
     equipment; upgrade/maintenance of engines and transmissions; 
     refurbishment of TOW launchers; depot level support; 
     communication support equipment; tool and test equipment; 
     training; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, 
     technical, and logistics support services; and other related 
     elements of logistics and program support.
       (iv) Military Department: Army (HR-B-UBV).
       (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: HR-B-IAG.
       (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: December 1, 2020.
       *As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          POLICY JUSTIFICATION

     Croatia--Bradley Fighting Vehicle Refurbishment/Modernization

       The Government of Croatia has requested to buy 
     refurbishment/modernization and support for seventy-six (76) 
     M2A2 Operation Desert Storm (ODS) Bradley Fighting vehicles 
     consisting of: eighty-four (84) M240 machine guns; one 
     thousand one hundred three (1,103) TOW 2A Radio Frequency 
     (RF) missiles; sixteen (16) TOW 2A Radio Frequency (RF) fly-
     to-buy lot acceptance missiles; one hundred (100) TOW 2B 
     Radio Frequency (RF) missiles; eight (8) TOW 2B Radio 
     Frequency (RF) fly-to-buy lot acceptance missiles; five 
     hundred (500) TOW Bunker Buster (BB) Radio Frequency (RF) 
     missiles; and eight (8) TOW BB fly-to-buy lot acceptance 
     missiles. Also included are M257 Smoke Grenade Launchers; 
     ammunition; radios; simulator; special armor; Hunter/Killer 
     technology, which may include an exportable Commander's 
     Independent Viewer (CIV); spare and repair parts; support 
     equipment; upgrade/maintenance of engines and transmissions; 
     refurbishment of TOW launchers; depot level support; 
     communication support equipment; tool and test equipment; 
     training; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, 
     technical, and logistics support services; and other related 
     elements of logistics and program support. The total 
     estimated program cost is $757 million.
       This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and 
     national security of the United States by improving the 
     security of a NATO Ally that continues to be an important 
     force for political stability and economic progress in 
     Europe.
       This proposed sale of the Bradley vehicle refurbishment/
     modernization will contribute to Croatia's goal of updating 
     its military capability while further enhancing 
     interoperability with the United States and other allies. 
     Croatia will have no difficulty absorbing these equipment and 
     support into its armed forces.
       The proposed sale of this equipment will not alter the 
     basic military balance in the region.
       The prime contractors will be BAE Systems, York, 
     Pennsylvania; and Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona. 
     There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection 
     with this potential sale.
       Implementation of the proposed sale will require U.S. 
     Government and contractor personnel to visit Croatia on a 
     temporary basis in conjunction with program oversight and 
     support requirements, as well as to provide training and 
     maintenance support in country.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 20-84

     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 Modernized Bradley M2 components which are 
     considered to contain sensitive technology are as follow:
       a. Exportable version of the Second Generation Thermal 
     ``Night Vision'' Viewer, also known as the Second-Generation 
     Forward Looking infrared (SG-FLIR). For the Modernized 
     Bradley M2, the SG-FLIR system includes:
       (1) Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS) is a 
     second-generation forward looking infrared (FLIR) and an 
     electro-optical/TV imaging system. The IBAS has direct-view 
     optics (DVO) and the eye-safe laser rangefinder (ELRF). The 
     IBAS interfaces with the Bradley fire control system and can 
     be used for surveillance and as a back-up engagement sight 
     for the commander.
       (2) Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CIV) is another 
     version of the second-generation forward looking infrared 
     (FLIR) and an electro-optical/TV imaging system. The CIV 
     allows the commander to scan for targets and maintain 
     situational awareness while remaining under armor and without 
     interfering with the gunner's acquisition and engagement of 
     targets.
       (3) High Definition (HD) Long-Wave SG-FLIR sight is 
     currently under development for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. 
     The HD Long-wave FLIR is being developed as an eventual 
     upgrade to the capability of the IBAS and CIV. This case may 
     include the non-recurring engineering costs associated with 
     developing an exportable version of HD Long-wave FLIR for 
     International use.
       b. Exportable version of the Drivers Vision Enhancer (DVE), 
     the ``Night Vision'' Viewer utilized by the Bradley drivers 
     is a passive thermal imaging system, or ``night vision'' 
     device used to enhance a driver's viewing capabilities while 
     operating during degraded visual conditions, such as 
     darkness, fog, smoke or dust. It provides for an improved 
     situational awareness, applicable to both driving and 
     surveillance. The DVE system consists of a Display Control 
     Module (DCM), Sensor Module (SM), and Pan and Tilt Modules 
     (PTM). The DVE is currently available in the standard and 
     wide (DVE-Wide) configurations. The DVE-Wide provides drivers 
     with wider fields of view.
       c. Exportable version of the Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) 
     is a navigation device that uses motion sensors or 
     accelerometers and rotation sensors or gyroscopes to 
     continuously calculate the position, the orientation, and the 
     velocity of Bradley vehicle without the need for external 
     references. It is a supplementary, and complementary to the 
     global positioning system (GPS). In the event of a lack of a 
     GPS signal, the INU maintains position, velocity, and 
     situational awareness.
       d. The Radio Frequency TOW 2A (RF) Missile (BGM-71E-4B-RF) 
     is a direct attack missile designed to defeat armored 
     vehicles, reinforced urban structures, field fortification

[[Page S7134]]

     and other such targets. TOW Missiles are fired from a variety 
     of TOW Launchers in the U.S. Army, USMC and FMS customer 
     forces. The TOW 2A RF missile can be launched from the same 
     launcher platforms as the existing wire-guided TOW 2A missile 
     without modification to the launcher. The TOW 2A missile 
     (both wire and RF) contains two tracker beacons (Xenon and 
     thermal) for the launcher to track and guide the missile in 
     flight. Guidance commands from the launcher are provided to 
     the missile by the RF link contained within the missile case. 
     The hardware, software, and technical publications provided 
     with the sale thereof are unclassified. However, the system 
     itself contains sensitive technology that instructs the 
     system on how to operate in the presence of countermeasures.
       e. The Radio Frequency TOW 2B (RF) Missile (BGM-71F-3-RF) 
     is a fly-over shootdown missile designed to defeat armored 
     vehicles. TOW Missiles are fired from a variety of TOW 
     Launchers in the U.S. Army, USMC and FMS customer forces. The 
     TOW 2B RF missile can be launched from the same launcher 
     platforms as the existing wire-guided TOW 2B missile without 
     modification to the launcher. The TOW 2B missile (both wire 
     and RF) contains two tracker beacons (Xenon and thermal) for 
     the launcher to track and guide the missile in flight. 
     Guidance commands from the launcher are provided to the 
     missile by the RF link contained within the missile case. The 
     hardware, software, and technical publications provided with 
     the sale thereof are unclassified. However, the system itself 
     contains sensitive technology that instructs the system on 
     how to operate in the presence of countermeasures.
       f. The Radio Frequency TOW Bunker Buster (BB) Missile (BGM-
     71H-1-RF) is a variant of the TOW 2A that replaces the TOW 2A 
     warhead with a high explosive blast-fragmentation warhead. 
     The bulk charge warhead is effective against reinforced 
     concrete walls, light armored vehicles, and earth and timber 
     bunkers. Guidance commands from the launcher are provided to 
     the missile by the RF link contained within the missile case.
       2. The highest level of classification of defense articles, 
     components, and services included in this potential sale is 
     SECRET.
       3. If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain 
     knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the 
     information could be used to develop countermeasures or 
     equivalent systems which might reduce weapon system 
     effectiveness or be used in the development of a system with 
     similar or advanced capabilities.
       4. A determination has been made that Croatia 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 enclosed Policy 
     Justification.
       5. All defense articles and services listed in this 
     transmittal have been authorized for release and export to 
     Croatia.

                          ____________________