[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85548-85551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28487]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Transmittal No. 16-21]


36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification

AGENCY: Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

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: Pam Young, DSCA/SA&E/RAN, (703) 697-
9107.
    The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Transmittal 16-21 with attached Policy Justification 
and Sensitivity of Technology.

    Dated: November 22, 2016.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28NO16.005

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[[Page 85549]]

Transmittal No. 16-21
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 Kuwait
    (ii) Total Estimated Value:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major Defense Equipment *...............................    $6.3 billion
Other...................................................     3.8 billion
                                                         ---------------
  TOTAL.................................................    10.1 billion
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
Services under Consideration for Purchase:
    Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
Thirty-two (32) F/A-18E aircraft, with F414-GE-400 engines
Eight (8) F/A-18F aircraft, with F414-GE-400 engines
Eight (8) spare F414-GE-400 engines and Twenty-four (24) engine modules
Forty-one (41) AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) 
Radars
Forty-four (44) M61A2 20mm Gun Systems
Forty-five (45) AN/ALR-67(V)3 Radar Warning Receivers
Two hundred and forty (240) LAU-127E/A Guided Missile Launchers
Forty-five (45) AN/ALE-47 Airborne Countermeasures Dispenser Systems 
Twelve (12) AN/AAQ-33 SNIPER Advanced Targeting Pods
Forty-eight (48) Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS)
Forty-five (45) AN/ALQ-214 Radio Frequency Counter-Measures Systems
Forty-five (45) AN/ALE-55 Towed Decoys
Forty-eight (48) Link-16 Systems
Eight (8) Conformal Fuel Tanks
Fourteen (14) AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR Systems

    Non-MDE includes: ARC-210 radio (aircraft), Identification Friend 
or Foe (IFF) systems, AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles (NVG), Launchers 
(LAU-115D/A, LAU-116B/A, LAU-l 18A), Command Launch Computer (CLC) for 
Air to Ground Missile 88 (AGM-88), ANAV/MAGR GPS Navigation, Joint 
Mission Planning System (JMPS), aircraft spares, Aircraft Armament 
Equipment (AAE), support equipment, aircrew/maintenance training, 
contractor engineering technical service, logistics technical services, 
engineering technical services, other technical assistance, contractor 
logistics support, flight test services, storage and preservation, 
aircraft ferry, Repair of Repairable (RoR), support systems and 
associated logistics, training aides and devices, spares, technical 
data Engineering Change Proposals, avionics software support, software, 
technical publications, engineering and program support, U.S. 
Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistic support 
services.

    (iv) Military Department: Navy (KU-P-SBG)
    (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 Annex Attached.
    (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: November 17, 2016
    * as defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act.

Policy Justification

The Government of Kuwait--F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Aircraft with Support

    The Government of Kuwait has requested to purchase thirty-two (32) 
F/A-18E aircraft, with F414-GE-400 engines; eight (8) F/A-18F aircraft, 
with F414-GE-400 engines; eight (8) spare F414-GE-400 engines and 
twenty-four (24) engine modules; forty-one (41) AN/APG-79 Active 
Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radars; forty-four (44) M61A2 20mm 
Gun Systems; forty-five (45) AN/ALR-67(V)3 Radar Warning Receivers; two 
hundred and forty (240) LAU-127E/A Guided Missile Launchers; forty-five 
(45) AN/ALE-47 Airborne Countermeasures Dispenser Systems; twelve (12) 
AN/AAQ-33 SNIPER Advanced Targeting Pods; forty-eight (48) Joint Helmet 
Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS); forty-five (45) AN/ALQ-214 Radio 
Frequency Counter-Measures Systems; forty-five (45) AN/ALE-55 Towed 
Decoys; forty-eight (48) Link-16 Systems; eight (8) Conformal Fuel 
Tanks; and fourteen (14) AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR Systems. Also included in 
the sale are ARC-210 radio (aircraft); Identification Friend or Foe 
(IFF) systems; AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles (NVG); Launchers (LAU- 
115D/A, LAU-116B/A, LAU-l 18A); Command Launch Computer (CLC) for Air 
to Ground Missile 88 (AGM-88); ANAV/MAGR GPS Navigation; Joint Mission 
Planning System (JMPS); aircraft spares; Aircraft Armament Equipment 
(AAE); support equipment; aircrew/maintenance training; contractor 
engineering technical service; logistics technical services; 
engineering technical services; other technical assistance; contractor 
logistics support; flight test services; storage and preservation; 
aircraft ferry; Repair of Repairable (RoR); support systems and 
associated logistics; training aides and devices; spares; technical 
data Engineering Change Proposals; avionics software support; software; 
technical publications; engineering and program support; U.S. 
Government and contractor engineering; technical and logistic support 
services. The estimated total program cost is $10.1 billion.
    This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and 
national security of the United States by helping to improve the 
security of a Major Non-NATO Ally that has been, and continues to be, 
an important force for political and economic progress in the Middle 
East. Kuwait is a strategic partner in maintaining stability in the 
region. The acquisition of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft will 
allow for greater interoperability with U.S. forces, providing benefits 
for training and possible future coalition operations in support of 
shared regional security objectives.
    The proposed sale of the F/A- l8E/F Super Hornet aircraft will 
improve Kuwait's capability to meet current and future warfare threats. 
Kuwait will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland 
defense. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft will supplement and 
eventually replace the Kuwait Air Force's aging fighter aircraft. 
Kuwait will have no difficulty absorbing this aircraft into its armed 
forces.
    The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the 
basic military balance in the region.
    The prime contractors will be The Boeing Company, St. Louis, 
Missouri; Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles, California; Raytheon Company 
in El Segundo, California; and General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts. 
Offsets agreements associated with this proposed sale are expected; 
however, specific agreements are undetermined and will be defined 
during negotiations between the purchaser and contractor. Kuwait 
requires contractors to satisfy an offset obligation equal to 35 
percent of the main contract purchase price for any sale of defense 
articles in excess of three million Kuwait Dinar, (approximately $10 
million USD).
    Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 
contractor representatives to Kuwait on an intermittent basis over the 
life of the case to support delivery of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet 
aircraft and provide support and equipment familiarization.
    There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a 
result of this proposed sale.

[[Page 85550]]

Transmittal No. 16-21
Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 
36(b)(l) of the Arms Export Control Act
Annex
Item No. vii
    (vii) Sensitivity of Technology:
    1. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a single and two-seat, twin-
engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from 
either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of 
roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air 
defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air 
support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18E/F Weapons 
System is classified SECRET.
    2. The AN/APO-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar 
System is classified SECRET. The radar provides the F/A-18 aircraft 
with all-weather, multi-mission capability for performing air-to-air 
and air-to-ground targeting and attack. Air-to-air modes provide the 
capability for all-aspect target detection, long-range search and 
track, automatic target acquisition, and tracking of multiple targets. 
Air-to-surface attack modes provide high-resolution ground mapping 
navigation, weapon delivery, and sensor cueing. The system component 
hardware (Antenna, Transmitter, Radar Data Processor, and Power Supply) 
is UNCLASSIFIED. The Receiver-Exciter hardware is CONFIDENTIAL. The 
radar Operational Flight Program (OFP) is classified SECRET. 
Documentation provided with the AN/APO-79 radar set is classified 
SECRET.
    3. The AN/ALR-67(V)3 Electric Warfare Countermeasures Receiving Set 
is classified CONFIDENTIAL. The AN/ALR-67(V)3 provides the F/A-18F 
aircrew with radar threat warnings by detecting and evaluating friendly 
and hostile radar frequency threat emitters and providing 
identification and status information about the emitters to on-board 
Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment and the aircrew. The OFP and User 
Data Files (UDF) used in the AN/ALR- 67(V)3 are classified SECRET. 
Those software programs contain threat parametric data used to identify 
and establish priority of detected radar emitters.
    4. The AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispensing System is classified 
SECRET. The AN/ALE-47 is a threat-adaptive dispensing system that 
dispenses chaff, flares, and expendable jammers for self-protection 
against airborne and ground-based Radio Frequency and Infrared threats. 
The AN/ALE-47 Programmer is classified CONFIDENTIAL. The OPP and 
Mission Data Files used in the AN/ALE-47 are classified SECRET. Those 
software programs contain algorithms used to calculate the best defense 
against specific threats.
    5. The AN/ALQ-214 is an advanced air-borne Integrated Defensive 
Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) programmable modular automated 
system capable of intercepting, identifying, processing received radar 
signals (pulsed and continuous) and applying an optimum countermeasures 
technique in the direction of the radar signal, thereby improving 
individual aircraft probability of survival from a variety of surface-
to-air and air-to-air RF threats. The ALQ- 214 was designed to operate 
in a high-density Electromagnetic Hostile Environment with the ability 
to identify and counter a wide variety of multiple threats, including 
those with Doppler characteristics. Hardware within the AN/ALQ-214 is 
classified CONFIDENTIAL.
    6. The Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Combined Interrogator/
Transponder (CIT) with the Conformal Antenna System (CAS) is classified 
SECRET. The CIT is a complete MARK-XIIA identification system 
compatible with (IFF) Modes l, 2, 3/A, C4 and 5 (secure).
    7. The Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) is a modified 
HGU-55/P helmet that incorporates a visor-projected Heads-Up Display 
(HUD) to cue weapons and aircraft sensors to air and ground targets. In 
close combat, a pilot must currently align the aircraft to shoot at a 
target. JHMCS allows the pilot to simply look at a target to shoot 
Hardware is UNCLASSIFIED; technical data and documents are classified 
up to SECRET.
    8. The AN/AAQ-33 SNIPER Pod is a multi-sensor, electro-optical 
targeting pod incorporating infrared, low-light television camera, 
laser range-finder/target designator, and laser spot tracker. It is 
used to provide navigation and targeting for military aircraft in 
adverse weather and using precision-guided weapons such as laser-guided 
bombs. It offers much greater target resolution and imagery accuracy 
than previous systems. The AN/AAQ-33 is UNCLASSIFIED.
    9. The Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) is SECRET. JMPS will 
provide mission planning capability for support of military aviation 
operations. The JMPS will be tailored to the specific releasable 
configuration for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
    10. The AN/AVS-9 NVG is a 3rd generation aviation NVG offering 
higher resolution, high gain, and photo response to near infrared. 
Hardware is UNCLASSIFIED, and technical data and documentation to be 
provided are UNCLASSIFIED.
    11. The AN/ALE-55 towed decoy improves aircraft survivability by 
providing an enhanced, coordinated onboard/off-board countermeasure 
response to enemy threats. When threat libraries are installed, the AN/
ALE-55 is classified SECRET.
    12. Link-16 is a secure data and voice communication network. The 
system provides enhanced situational communication awareness, positive 
identification of participants within the network, secure fighter-to-
fighter connectivity, and secure voice capability. It can be classified 
up to CONFIDENTIAL.
    13. The LAU-127E/A Guided Missile Launchers is designed to enable 
F/A-18 aircraft to carry and launch missiles. It provides the 
electrical and mechanical interface between the missile and launch 
aircraft as well as the two-way data transfer between missile and 
cockpit controls and displays to support preflight orientation and 
control circuits to prepare and launch the missile. The LAU-127E/A is 
UNCLASSIFIED.
    14. ANAV Global Positioning System (GPS) is a 24-channel Selective 
Availability Anti- Spoofing Module (SAASM) based pulse-per-second GPS 
receiver built for next generation GPS technology.
    15. Command Launch Computer (CLC) is an electronics subsystem 
installed on the airframe to interface with the AGM-88 NBIC HARM 
Missile. The CLC and associated software package are compatible with 
all AGM-88 A/B/C missiles. The CLC receives target data from the 
missile and onboard avionics, processes the data for display to the 
aircrew to the appropriate display, determines target priority, and 
collects aircraft data for pre-launch hand-off to the AGM-88 HARM 
missile.
    16. The AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared 
(ATFLIR) is a multi-sensor, electro-optical targeting pod incorporating 
thermographic camera, low-light television camera, target laser 
rangefinder/laser designator, and laser spot tracker developed and 
manufactured by Raytheon. It is used to provide navigation and 
targeting for military aircraft in adverse weather and using precision-
guided munitions such as laser-guided bombs.
    17. A determination has been made that the Government of Kuwait, 
can provide substantially the same degree of protection for the 
classified and

[[Page 85551]]

sensitive technology being released as the U.S. Government.
    18. This sale is necessary in furtherance of the U.S. foreign 
policy and national security objectives outlined in the Policy 
Justification.
    19. All defense articles and services listed in this transmittal 
have been authorized for release and export to the Government of 
Kuwait.

[FR Doc. 2016-28487 Filed 11-25-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 5001-06-P