[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 238 (Friday, December 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76954-76957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31264]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Transmittal No. 15-62]


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: Sarah A. Ragan or Heather N. Harwell, 
DSCA/LMO, (703) 604-1546/(703) 607-5339.
    The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Transmittal 15-62 with attached Policy Justification 
and Sensitivity of Technology.

    Dated: December 8, 2015.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11DE15.003

Transmittal No. 15-62
Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 
36(b)(l) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended
    (i) Prospective Purchaser: Government of Japan
    (ii) Total Estimated Value:

Major Defense Equipment *...............................   $.689 billion
Other...................................................   $.511 billion
                                                         ---------------
  TOTAL.................................................   $1.20 billion
 

    (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
Services under Consideration for Purchase:

Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
Three (3) RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft with 
Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS)
Eight (8) Kearfott Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System 
(INS/GPS) units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)
Eight (8) LN-251 INS/GPS units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)

    Also included with this request are operational-level sensor and 
aircraft test equipment, ground support equipment, 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 (X7-D-SAI)
    (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: None

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    (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: 19 NOV 2015
    * As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act

POLICY JUSTIFICATION

Government of Japan-RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted 
Aircraft

    The Government of Japan has requested a possible sale of:

Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
Three (3) RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft with 
Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS)
Eight (8) Kearfott Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System 
(INS/GPS) units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)
Eight (8) LN-251 INS/GPS units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)

    Also included with this request are operational-level sensor and 
aircraft test equipment, ground support equipment, 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. The estimated value of MDE is 
$.689 billion. The total estimated value is $1.2 billion.
    This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and 
national security of the United States. Japan is one of the major 
political and economic powers in East Asia and the Western Pacific and 
a key partner of the United States in ensuring regional peace and 
stability. This transaction is consistent with U.S. foreign policy and 
national security objectives and the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation 
and Security.
    The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will significantly enhance Japan's 
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and 
help ensure that Japan is able to continue to monitor and deter 
regional threats. The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) will have no 
difficulty absorbing these systems 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 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 of 
contractor representatives to Japan to perform contractor logistics 
support and to support establishment of required security 
infrastructure.
    There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a 
result of this proposed sale.
Transmittal No. 15-62
Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 
36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended
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 
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. Navigation is via inertial navigation 
with integrated global positioning system (GPS) updates. The vehicle is 
capable of operating from a standard paved runway. Real time missions 
are flown under the control of a pilot in a Ground Control Element 
(GCE). 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 GCE, which 
consists of 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 command and control (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. The EISS includes infrared/electro-
optical, synthetic aperture radar imagery, ground moving target 
indicator and space to accommodate optional SIGINT, Maritime, datalink, 
and automatic identification system capabilities. The ground control 
element includes a mission control function and a launch and recovery 
capability.
    c. The RQ-4 employs a quad-redundant Inertial Navigation System/
Global Positioning System (INS/GPS) configuration. The system utilizes 
two different INS/GPS systems for greater redundancy. The system 
consists of two LN-251 units and two Kearfott KN-4074E INS/GPS Units. 
The LN-251 is a fully integrated, non-dithered navigation system with 
an embedded Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM), P(Y) 
code or Standard Positioning Service (SPS) GPS. It utilizes a Fiber-
Optic Gyro (FOG) and includes three independent navigation solutions: 
blended INS/GPS, INS-only, and GPS-only. The Kearfott KN-4074E features 
a Monolithic Ring Laser Gyro (MRLG) and accelerometer. The inertial 
sensors are tightly coupled with an embedded SAASM P(Y) code GPS. Both 
systems employ cryptographic technology that can be classified up to 
SECRET.
    2. If a technology 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.
    3. All defense articles and services listed in this transmittal 
have been

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authorized for release and export to the Government of Japan.

[FR Doc. 2015-31264 Filed 12-10-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-C