[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2742-S2743]
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. 22-28, 
     concerning the Army's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to the Government of Australia for defense 
     articles and services estimated to cost $385 million. After 
     this letter is delivered to your office, we plan

[[Page S2743]]

     to issue a news release to notify the public of this proposed 
     sale.
           Sincerely,
                                                  James A. Hursch,
                                                         Director.
       Enclosures.


                         Transmittal No. 22-28

     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 Australia.
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment * $350 million.
       Other $35 million.
       Total $385 million.
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase:
       Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
       Twenty (20) M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System 
     (HIMARS).
       Thirty (30) M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System 
     (GMLRS).
       Thirty (30) Alternative Warhead (AW) Pods with Insensitive 
     Munitions Propulsion Systems (IMPS).
       Thirty (30) M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) High Explosive 
     Pods with IMPS.
       Thirty (30) XM403 Extended Range (ER)-GMLRS AW Pods.
       Thirty (30) EM404 ER GMLRS Unitary Pods.
       Ten (10) M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
       Non-MDE: Also included are Reduced Range Practice Rocket 
     Pods (RRPRP); Vehicular Intercom System (AN/VIC-3) 3-Station; 
     radio communication mounts; machine gun mounts; battle 
     management system vehicle integration kits; wheel guards; 
     ruggedized laptops; training equipment publications; spare 
     and repair parts; support equipment; tools; test equipment; 
     technical data; U.S. Government and Contractor support; 
     technical and logistical support services; and other related 
     elements of program and logistic support.
       (iv) Military Department: Army (AT-B-UMK).
       (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: AT-B-UMJ, AT-B-UKI.
       (vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed 
     to be Paid: None known at this time.
       (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: May 26, 2022.
       *As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          POLICY JUSTIFICATION

                      Australia--HIMARS Launchers

       The Government of Australia has requested to buy twenty 
     (20) M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 
     thirty (30) M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems 
     (GMLRS); thirty (30) Alternative Warhead (AW) Pods with 
     Insensitive Munitions Propulsion Systems (IMPS); thirty (30) 
     M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) High Explosive Pods with IMPS; 
     thirty (30) XM403 Extended Range (ER)-GMLRS AW Pods; thirty 
     (30) EM404 ER GMLRS Unitary Pods; and ten (10) M57 Army 
     Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). Also included are Reduced 
     Range Practice Rocket Pods (RRPRP); Vehicular Intercom System 
     (AN/VIC-3) 3-Station; radio communication mounts; machine gun 
     mounts; battle management system vehicle integration kits; 
     wheel guards; ruggedized laptops; training equipment 
     publications; spare and repair parts; support equipment; 
     tools; test equipment; technical data; U.S. Government and 
     Contractor support; technical and logistical support 
     services; and other related elements of program and logistic 
     support. The total estimated program cost is $385 million.
       This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and 
     national security objectives of the United States. Australia 
     is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific. 
     The strategic location of this political and economic power 
     contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic 
     stability in the region. It is vital to the U.S. national 
     interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a 
     strong and ready self-defense capability.
       The proposed sale will improve Australia's capability to 
     meet current and future threats, and will enhance 
     interoperability with U.S. forces and other allied forces. 
     Australia will use the capability to strengthen its homeland 
     defense and provide greater security for its critical 
     infrastructure. Australia 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 contractors will be Lockheed Martin Inc., 
     Bethesda, MD; Chelton Inc., Marlow, United Kingdom; and L3 
     Harris Corp., Melbourne, FL. The purchaser typically requests 
     offsets. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations 
     between the purchaser and the contractor(s).
       Implementation of this proposed sale will require the 
     assignment of two (2) U.S. Government and five (5) U.S. 
     contractor representatives in Australia for a period of one 
     year.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 22-28

  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 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) 
     is a C-130 transportable wheeled launcher mounted on a 5-ton 
     Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles truck chassis. HIMARS is 
     the modern Army-fielded version of the Multiple Launch Rocket 
     System (MLRS) M270 launcher, and can fire all of the MLRS 
     Family of Munitions (FOM) including Guided Multiple Launch 
     Rocket System (GMLRS) variants and the Army Tactical Missile 
     System (ATACMS). Utilizing the MLRS FOM, the HIMARS can 
     engage targets between 15 and 300 kilometers with Global 
     Positioning System (GPS)-aided precision accuracy.
       2. The M31A2 GMLRS Unitary is the Army's primary munition 
     for units fielding the M142 HIMARS and M270Al MLRS Launchers. 
     The M31 Unitary is a solid propellant artillery rocket that 
     uses GPS/Precise Positioning Service (PPS)-aided inertial 
     guidance to accurately and quickly deliver a single high-
     explosive blast fragmentation warhead to targets at ranges 
     from 15-70 kilometers. The rockets are fired from a launch 
     pod container that also serves as the storage and 
     transportation container for the rockets. Each rocket pod 
     holds six (6) total rockets.
       3. The M30A2 GMLRS Alternative Warhead shares a greater 
     than 90% commonality with the M31A1 Unitary. The primary 
     difference between the GMLRS-U and GMLRS-AW is the 
     replacement of the Unitary's high explosive warhead with a 
     200-pound fragmentation warhead of pre-formed tungsten 
     penetrators which is optimized for effectiveness against 
     large area and imprecisely located targets. The munitions 
     otherwise share a common motor, GPS/PPS-aided inertial 
     guidance and control system, fusing mechanism, multi-option 
     height of burst capability, and effective range of 15-70km.
       4. The M57 ATACMS-Unitary is a conventional, semi-ballistic 
     missile that utilizes a 500-pound high explosive warhead. It 
     has an effective range of between 70 and 300 kilometers, and 
     has increased lethality and accuracy over previous versions 
     of the ATACMS due to a GPS/ PPS aided navigation system.
       5. The Extended Range (ER) GMLRS provides a persistent, 
     responsive, all-weather, rapidly deployed, long range, 
     surface-to surface, area- and point-precision strike 
     capability. The XM403 Alternative Warhead (AW) carries a 200-
     pound fragmentation assembly filled with high explosives 
     which, upon detonation, accelerates two layers of preformed 
     penetrators optimized for effectiveness against large area 
     and imprecisely located targets. The XM404 Unitary variant is 
     a 200-pound class unitary with a steel blast-fragmentation 
     case, designed for low collateral damage against point 
     targets. The ER GMLRS maintains the accuracy and 
     effectiveness demonstrated by the baseline GMLRS out to a 
     maximum range of 150 km while also including a new Height of 
     Burst (HOB) capability.
       6. The highest level of classification of defense articles, 
     components, and services included in this potential sale is 
     SECRET.
       7. If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain 
     knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the 
     information could be used to develop countermeasures that 
     might reduce weapon system effectiveness or be used in the 
     development of a system with similar or advanced 
     capabilities.
       8. A determination has been made that Australia 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.
       9. All defense articles and services listed in this 
     transmittal have been authorized for release and export to 
     the Government of Australia.

                          ____________________