[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 126 (Thursday, August 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5763-S5764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ARMS SALES NOTIFICATIONS

  Mr. CARDIN. 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 still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous 
consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been 
received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such 
an 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,

                                                   Washington, DC.
     Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin,
     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. 23-79, 
     concerning the Navy's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to the Government of Slovakia for defense articles 
     and services estimated to cost $600 million. We will issue a 
     news release to notify the public of this proposed sale upon 
     delivery of this letter to your office.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Mike Miller,
                                  (for James A. Hursch, Director).
       Enclosures.


                         Transmittal No. 23-79

     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 Slovakia.
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment * $250 million.
       Other $350 million.
       Total $600 million.
       Funding Source: FMF Grant and National Funds.
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase:
       Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
       Twelve (12) AH-1Z attack helicopters.
       Twenty-six (26) T-700 GE 401C engines (24 installed, 2 
     spares).
       One thousand six hundred eighty (1,680) Advanced Precision 
     Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS), WGU-59/B.
       Fourteen (14) Honeywell embedded global positioning systems 
     (GPS)/inertial navigation systems (INS) (EGIs) (12 installed, 
     2 spares).
       Non-Major Defense Equipment: The following non-MDE items 
     will also be included: support and test equipment; aircraft; 
     weapons and munitions; countermeasures; integration and test 
     support; spare and repair

[[Page S5764]]

     parts; communications equipment; mission planning; software 
     delivery and support; Helmet Mounted Display System/Optimized 
     TopOwl, Target Sight Systems and containers, technical 
     refresh mission computers; ANVIS-9 night vision cueing 
     displays; AN/ARC-210 Generation 6 receiver-transmitter 2036 
     radio equipment; AN/APX-123A identification friend or foe 
     (IFF) Mode 5 mounting trays and batteries; cartridge actuated 
     devices/propellant actuated devices (CAD/PADs); facilities 
     and construction support; transportation; publications and 
     technical documentation; personnel training and training 
     equipment; countermeasures, including M299 launchers, LAU-
     61C/A and LAU-68F/A rocket launchers, M151 high explosive 
     warheads for airborne 2.75 inch rockets; MK66 MOD 4, 2.75-
     inch rocket motors; WTU-1B warheads; M197 20 mm armament pod 
     gun assemblies; 20 mm PGU-27A/B target practice rounds; 20 mm 
     PGU-28A/B semi armor piercing high explosive incendiary 
     rounds; AN/ALE-47 chaff and flare countermeasures system; 
     MJU-32A/B and MJU-49B decoy flares; SMB875B/ALE flare 
     simulators; RR-129A/AL chaff cartridges; RR-144A/AL training 
     chaff cartridges; CCU-136A/A impulse cartridges; AN/AAR-47 
     missile warning system; AN/APR-39C radar warning receiver and 
     conversion kits; KIV-78A cryptographic appliques; AN/PYQ-10C 
     Simple Key Loader with KOV-21 cryptographic card; U.S. 
     Government and contractor engineering; field service 
     representative services; technical and logistical support 
     services; studies and surveys; and other related elements of 
     logistics and program support.
       (iv) Military Department: Navy (LO-P-SAB).
       (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: July 31, 2024.
       *As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          POLICY JUSTIFICATION

                   Slovakia--AH-1Z Attack Helicopters

       The Government of Slovakia has requested to buy twelve (12) 
     AH-1Z attack helicopters; twenty-six (26) T-700 GE 401C 
     engines (24 installed, 2 spares); one thousand six hundred 
     eighty (1,680) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems 
     (APKWS), WGU-59/B; and fourteen (14) Honeywell embedded 
     global positioning systems (GPS)/inertial navigation systems 
     (INS) (EGIs) (12 installed, 2 spares). The following non-MDE 
     items will also be included: support and test equipment; 
     aircraft; weapons and munitions; countermeasures; integration 
     and test support; spare and repair parts; communications 
     equipment; mission planning; software delivery and support; 
     Helmet Mounted Display System/Optimized TopOwl, Target Sight 
     Systems and containers; technical refresh mission computers; 
     ANVIS-9 night vision cueing displays; AN/ARC-210 Generation 6 
     receiver-transmitter 2036 radio equipment; AN/APX-123A 
     identification friend or foe (IFF) Mode 5 mounting trays and 
     batteries; cartridge actuated devices/propellant actuated 
     devices (CAD/PADs); facilities and construction support; 
     transportation; publications and technical documentation; 
     personnel training and training equipment; countermeasures, 
     including M299 launchers, LAU-61C/A and LAU-68F/A rocket 
     launchers, M151 high explosive warheads for airborne 2.75-
     inch rockets; MK66 MOD 4, 2.75-inch rocket motors; WTU-1B 
     warheads; M197 20 mm armament pod gun assemblies; 20 mm PGU-
     27A/B target practice rounds; 20 mm PGU-28A/B semi armor 
     piercing high explosive incendiary rounds; AN/ALE-47 chaff 
     and flare countermeasures system; MJU-32A/B and MJU-49B decoy 
     flares; SMB875B/ALE flare simulators; RR-129A/AL chaff 
     cartridges; RR-144A/AL training chaff cartridges; CCU-136A/A 
     impulse cartridges; AN/AAR-47 missile warning system; AN/APR-
     39C radar warning receiver and conversion kits; KIV-78A 
     cryptographic appliques; AN/PYQ-10C Simple Key Loader with 
     KOV-21 cryptographic card; U.S. Government and contractor 
     engineering; field service representative services; technical 
     and logistical support services; studies and surveys; and 
     other related elements of logistics and program support. The 
     estimated total cost is $600 million.
       This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and 
     national security objectives of the United States by helping 
     to improve the security of a NATO Ally that is a force for 
     political stability and economic progress in Europe.
       The proposed sale will improve Slovakia's capability to 
     meet current and future threats by providing the Slovak Air 
     Force with aircraft to meet its national defense needs. 
     Slovakia 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 Bell Textron, located in 
     Fort Worth, TX; and the General Electric Company, located in 
     Lynn, MA. There are no known offset agreements in connection 
     with this potential sale.
       Implementation of this proposed sale will require multiple 
     trips by U.S. Government and contractor representatives to 
     Slovakia to participate in program and technical reviews, as 
     well as training and maintenance support in-country, on a 
     temporary basis, for a period of twenty-four (24) months. It 
     will also require approximately two (2) contractor support 
     representatives to reside in-country for a period of two (2) 
     years to support this program.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 23-79

     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 AH-1Z has an integrated avionics system which 
     includes two mission computers and an automatic flight 
     control system. Each crew station has two 8x6-inch 
     multifunction liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and one 4.2x4.2-
     inch dual function LCD. The communications suite will have 
     COMSEC ARC 210 ultra high frequency/very high frequency (UHF/
     VHF) radios with associated communications equipment. The 
     navigation suite includes a Precise Positioning System (PPS), 
     Honeywell embedded global positioning systems (GPS)/inertial 
     navigation systems (INS) (EGIs) provided by Selective 
     Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) or M-Code, a 
     digital map system, and a low-airspeed air data subsystem.
       The crew is equipped with the Optimized TopOwl (OTO) 
     helmet-mounted sight and display system. The OTO has a Day 
     Display Module (DDM) and a Night Display Module (NDM). The H-
     1 has survivability equipment including the AN/AAR-47 missile 
     warning and laser detection system, AN/ALE-47 countermeasure 
     dispensing system, and the AN/APR-39 radar warning receiver 
     to provide radar and laser warning, and dispense 
     countermeasures.
       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 that 
     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 the Government of 
     Slovakia 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 Slovakia.

                          ____________________