[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 107 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3152-S3153]
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 Sectin 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
     amended, we are forwarding herewith Transmittal No. 22-17, 
     concerning the Air Force's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) as 
     Lead Nation for defense articles and services estimated to 
     cost $22.7 million. After this letter is delivered to your 
     offie, we plan to issue a news release to notify the public 
     of this proposed sale.
           Sincerely,
                                                  James A. Hursch,
                                                         Director.
       Enclosures.


                         Transmittal No. 22-17

  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: NATO Support and Procurement 
     Agency (NSPA) as Lead

[[Page S3153]]

     Nation for Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, 
     Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 
     Spain and the United Kingdom
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment* $21.8 million.
       Other $ 0.9 million.
       Total $22.7 million.
       Funding Source: National Funds
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase: Foreign Military 
     Sales (FMS) case N4-D-YAB, was below congressional 
     notification threshold at $1.87 million ($1.78 million in 
     MDE) and included forty (40) GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, 
     Increment I. NATO Support and Procurement Agency as Lead 
     Nation has requested the case be amended to include the below 
     listed, additional MDE and non-MDE items and services. This 
     amendment will push the current case above the MDE 
     notification threshold and thus requires notification of the 
     entire case.
       Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
       Two hundred seventy-nine (279) GBU-39/B Small Diameter 
     Bombs, Increment I.
       Two hundred four
       (204) FMU-152 Fuzes.
       Two hundred four (204) MK-82 500LB General Purpose Bombs.
       Fifty (50) BLU-109 2000LB Hard Target Penetrator Bombs.
       Non-MDE:
       Also included are smoke signal cartridges; engineering and 
     technical support and assistance; and other related elements 
     of logistical and program support.
       (iv) Military Department: Air Force (N4-D-YAB).
       (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: None.
       (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: June 22, 2022.
       * As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          policy justification

       NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA)--Precision 
     Guided Munitions
       NATO Support and Procurement Agency as Lead Nation has 
     requested the possible sale of two hundred thirty-nine (239) 
     GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, Increment I; two hundred four 
     (204) FMU-152 fuzes; two hundred four (204) MK-82 500LB 
     General Purpose Bombs; and fifty (50) BLU-109 2000LB Hard 
     Target Penetrator Bombs, that will be added to a previously 
     implemented case. The original FMS case, valued at $1.87 
     million, included forty (40) GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, 
     Increment I. Therefore, this notification is for a total of 
     two hundred seventy-nine (279) GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, 
     Increment I; two hundred four (204) FMU-152 fuzes; two 
     hundred four (204) MK-82 500LB General Purpose Bombs; and 
     fifty (50) BLU-109 2000LB Hard Target Penetrator Bombs. Also 
     included are smoke signal cartridges; engineering and 
     technical support and assistance; and other related elements 
     of logistical and program support. The total estimated cost 
     is $22.7 million.
       This proposed sale supports the foreign policy and national 
     security of the United States by increasing the flexibility 
     of Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, 
     Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 
     Spain, and the United Kingdom, twelve NATO nations and one 
     NATO enhanced opportunity partner nation, to contribute to 
     overseas contingency operations. This sale increases the 
     quantity of precision-guided munitions within NATO and allows 
     for their pre-coordinated transfer in support of national and 
     NATO requirements.
       The proposed sale will improve NATO's capability to meet 
     current and future ground threats with precision. NATO will 
     use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional 
     threats, and to increase interoperability within contingency 
     operations. Many of the purchasing nations already have 
     precision-guided munitions in their inventories and will all 
     have no difficulty absorbing these munitions 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 for production are the Boeing 
     Corporation, St Louis, MO; and Raytheon Missile Systems, 
     Tucson, AZ. The principal contractor for integration is 
     unknown and will be determined during contract negotiations. 
     There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection 
     with this potential sale.
       Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the 
     assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor 
     representatives to NATO.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 22-17

     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 GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb Increment 1 (SDB-1) is a 
     250 pound GPS-aided inertial navigation system, small 
     autonomous, day or night, adverse weather, conventional, air-
     to-ground precision glide weapon able to strike fixed and 
     stationary re-locatable non-hardened targets from standoff 
     ranges. It is intended to provide aircraft with an ability to 
     carry a high number of bombs. Aircraft are able to carry four 
     SDBs in place of one 2,000 pound bomb.
       2. The Joint Programmable Fuze (JPF) FMU-152 is a multi-
     delay, multi-arm and proximity sensor compatible with general 
     purpose blast, frag and hardened-target penetrator weapons. 
     The JPF settings are cockpit selectable in flight when used 
     with numerous precision-guided weapons.
       3. MK-82 General Purpose (GP) bomb is a 500 pound, free-
     fall, unguided, low-drag weapon used for attacking soft and 
     intermediately protected targets.
       4. The BLU-109 is a 2,000 pound hard target penetrator 
     warhead designed to penetrate hardened structures before 
     detonating.
       5. The highest level of classification of defense articles, 
     components, and services included in this potential sale is 
     SECRET.
       6. 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.
       7. A determination has been made that NATO Support and 
     Procurement Agency (NSPA) and the participating countries 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.
       8. All defense articles and services listed in this 
     transmittal have been authorized for release and export to 
     NSPA, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, 
     Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 
     Spain, and the United Kingdom.

                          ____________________