[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1250-S1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION
Mr. MENENDEZ. 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. Robert Menendez,
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. 22-10,
concerning the Missile Defense Agency's proposed Letter(s) of
Offer and Acceptance to the Government of the United Kingdom
for defense articles and services estimated to cost $700
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,
Jedidiah P. Royal,
(For James A. Hursch, Director.)
Enclosures.
Transmittal No. 22-10
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 the United
Kingdom.
(ii) Total Estimated Value:
Major Defense Equipment* $400 million.
Other $300 million.
Total $700 million.
(iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or
Services under Consideration for Purchase:
[[Page S1251]]
Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
One (1) Ballistic Missile Defense Radar (BMDR).
Two (2) Command and Control Battle Management and
Communications.
(C2BMC) User Nodes (with network capability required to
connect to the C2BMC System to support radar operations).
Non-MOE: Also included are design and construction of a
combined radar-equipment shelter; encryption devices, secure
communication equipment, and other required COMSEC equipment
to support radar operations; spare and repair parts, support
and testing 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: Missile Defense Agency (UK-1-
ZAB).
(v) Prior Related Cases, if any: UK-1-ZAA.
(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: March 17, 2022.
*As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export
Control Act.
POLICY JUSTIFICATION
United Kingdom--Ballistic Missile Defense Radar (BMDR) and
Command and Control Battle Management and Communications
(C2BMC)
The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has requested to
buy one (1) Ballistic Missile Defense Radar (BMDR); and two
(2) Command and Control Battle Management and Communications
(C2BMC) user nodes (with network capability required to
connect to the C2BMC System to support radar operations).
Also included are design and construction of a combined
radar-equipment shelter; encryption devices, secure
communication equipment, and other required COMSEC equipment
to support radar operations; spare and repair parts, support
and testing 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 $700 million.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals
and national security objectives of the United States by
improving the security of a NATO Ally that is a force for
political stability and economic progress in Europe.
The proposed sale will improve UK's ability to meet current
and future ballistic missile threats to the UK and NATO by
improving the effectiveness of NATO BMD systems. The United
Kingdom will have no difficulty absorbing the BMD Radar 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,
Moorestown, NJ. There are no known offset agreements proposed
in connection with this potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale may require the
assignment of approximately 15 U.S. Government and up to 100
contractor representatives to the UK, at any given time,
during the construction, installation, integration and
testing of the BMDR and C2BMC capability.
There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness
as a result of this proposed sale.
Transmittal No. 22-10
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 United Kingdom (UK) Ballistic Missile Defense Radar
(BMDR) is a scaled version of the U.S. Long Range
Discrimination Radar. It will provide continuous and precise
tracking and discrimination of missile threats, persistent
long-range midcourse discrimination, precision tracking and
hit assessment. Discrimination is a critical capability of
missile defense, which will provide data to distinguish
lethal objects from debris and decoys around the lethal
object. The UK will use the Command and Control, Battle
Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system to integrate
the UK BMDR. This will improve the effectiveness of North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) missile defenses.
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 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.
4. A determination has been made that the United Kingdom
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.
5. All defense articles and services listed in this
transmittal have been authorized for release and export to
the Government of the United Kingdom.
____________________