[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 3 (Friday, January 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 699-701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31722]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Transmittal Nos. 12-02]


36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification

AGENCY: Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Defense is publishing the unclassified text 
of a section 36(b)(1) arms sales notification. This is published to 
fulfill the requirements of section 155 of Public Law 104-164 dated 
July 21, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. B. English, DSCA/DBO/CFM, (703) 
601-3740.
    The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Transmittals 12-02 with attached transmittal, policy 
justification and sensitivity of technology.

    Dated: December 31, 2012.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
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Transmittal No. 12-02
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: Republic of Korea
    (ii) Total Estimated Value:

Major Defense Equipment*.................  $.687 billion
Other....................................  $.513 billion
                                          ------------------------------
  Total..................................  $1.2 billion
 
* as defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act.

    (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
Services under Consideration for Purchase: four (4) RQ-4 Block 30 (I) 
Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft with the Enhanced Integrated 
Sensor Suite (EISS). The EISS includes infrared/electro-optical, 
synthetic aperture radar imagery and ground moving target indicator. 
The ground segment includes a mission control element and a launch and 
recovery element. Also included is an imagery intelligence exploitation 
system, test equipment, ground support, operational flight test 
support, communications equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel 
training, publications and technical data, U.S. Government and 
contractor technical and logistics support services, and other related 
elements of logistics support.
    (iv) Military Department: Air Force (SAC)
    (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

[[Page 701]]

    (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: 21 December 2012

POLICY JUSTIFICATION

Republic of Korea--RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted 
Aircraft

    The Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has requested a 
possible sale of four (4) RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely 
Piloted Aircraft with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS). The 
EISS includes infrared/electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar 
imagery and ground moving target indicator, mission control element, 
launch and recovery element, signals intelligence package, an imagery 
intelligence exploitation system, test equipment, ground support, 
operational flight test support, communications equipment, spare and 
repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, publications 
and technical data, U.S. Government and contractor technical and 
logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics 
support. The estimated cost is $1.2 billion.
    This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy goals and 
national security objectives of the United States by meeting the 
legitimate security and defense needs of an ally and partner nation. 
The Republic of Korea continues to be an important force for peace, 
political stability, and economic progress in North East Asia.
    The ROK needs this intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance 
(ISR) capability to assume primary responsibility for intelligence 
gathering from the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command. The transfer from 
the U.S. to the ROK of wartime operational control over Korean forces 
will occur in 2015. The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will significantly 
enhance the ROK's ISR capabilities and help ensure the alliance is able 
to continue to monitor and deter regional threats. The ROK will have no 
difficulty absorbing these systems into its armed forces.
    The proposed sale of this system will not alter the basic military 
balance in the region.
    The principal contractor will be Northrop Grumman Corporation in 
Rancho Bernardo, California. The purchaser requested offsets but at 
this time agreements are undetermined and will be defined in 
negotiations between the purchaser and contractor.
    Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment 
contractor representatives to Korea to perform contractor logistics 
support and to support required enhanced end use monitoring (EEUM) 
activities.
    There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a 
result of this proposed sale.
Transmittal No. 12-02
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 RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk hardware and software are 
Unclassified. The highest level of classified information required for 
operation may be Secret depending on the classification of the imagery 
or Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) utilized on a specific operation. The 
RQ-4 is optimized for long range and prolonged flight endurance. It is 
capable of fully autonomous operations once programmed by the ground 
stations, including fully automatic taxi, take-off, flight data 
collection, and recovery. It is used for military intelligence, 
surveillance, and reconnaissance. Aircraft system, sensor, and 
navigational status are provided continuously to the ground operators 
through a health and status downlink for mission monitoring. The 
navigation and sensor plan can by dynamically updated in-flight through 
any of the redundant data links. Data links can be an X-Band Line of 
Sight communication or Ku-Band Over-the-Horizon Satellite 
Communications. The air vehicle has multiple contingency modes to 
provide safe, predictable operation in the event of lost data links, 
mission critical equipment, or flight critical equipment. Navigation is 
via inertial navigation with integrated global positioning system (GPS) 
updates. Taxi, take-off, and landing accuracy are enhanced with dual 
radio altimeters and Differential GPS. The vehicle is capable of 
operating from a standard paved runway. Real time missions are flown 
under the control of a pilot in a Mission Control Element. It is 
designed to carry a non-weapons internal payload of 3,000 lbs 
consisting primarily of sensors and avionics. The following payloads 
are integrated into the RQ-4: Enhanced Imagery Sensor Suite that 
includes multi-use infrared, electro-optical, ground moving target 
indicator, and synthetic aperture radar and a space to accommodate 
other sensors, such as SIGINT. The RQ-4 will include the following 
components:
    a. The Mission Control Element (MCE) is the RQ-4 Global Hawk ground 
control station for mission planning, communication management, 
aircraft and mission control, and image processing and dissemination. 
It can be either fixed or mobile. In addition to the shelter housing 
the operator workstations, the MCE includes an optional 6.25 meter Ku-
Band antenna assembly, a Tactical Modular Interoperable Surface 
Terminal, a 12-ton Environmental Control Unit (heating and air 
conditioning), and two 100 kilowatt electrical generators. The MCE, 
technical data, and documentation are Unclassified. The MCE may operate 
at the classified level depending on the classification of the data 
feeds.
    b. The Launch and Recovery Element (LRE) is a subset of the MCE and 
can be either fixed or mobile. It provides identical functionality for 
mission planning and air vehicle C2. The launch element contains a 
mission planning workstation and a C2 workstation. The primary 
difference between the LRE and MCE is the lack of any wide-band data 
links or image processing capability within the LRE and navigation 
equipment at the LRE to provide the precision required for ground 
operations, take-off, and landing. The LRE, technical data, and 
documentation are Unclassified.
    2. 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.

[FR Doc. 2012-31722 Filed 1-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-C