Pentagon
US clears record total for arms sales in FY17
By: Aaron Mehta September 13, 2017
US on Track for Record Foreign Weapon Sales
The State Department has cleared $45.2 billion in sales in just three months.
By: Aaron Mehta
A State Department official declined to address setting the record directly, instead noting that “strengthening the defense capabilities of U.S. allies and their ability to partner with our forces is a smarter approach to protecting the United States, is a force multiplier for the U.S. warfighter, and ultimately, benefits U.S. industry by driving new innovation and creating high-quality American jobs.”
Lt. Cdr. Patrick Evans, a Pentagon spokesman, said DSCA would not comment on total figures until the end of the fiscal year but noted that “sales continue to be strong and continue to indicate the interest of our partners in seeking the quality products and services we offer. Additionally, we have said in the past that when you examine the three-year moving sales averages, you can see the continuing, growing sales trend over the last decade.”
As in 2012, the vast majority of dollars approved came from a few huge notifications. The sale of F-15s to Qatar ($21.1 billion), F/A-18E/F fighters to Kuwait ($10.1 billion), the Canada F/A-18 agreement ($5.2 billion) Patriot PAC-3 weapons to Romania ($3.9 billion), CH-47 Chinooks to Saudi Arabia ($3.51 billion) and Apache AH-64E for the UAE ($3.5 billion) all helped push the total to record highs.
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Overall, 17 of the 73 DSCA notifications announced through Sept. 12 total $1 billion or more. Roughly $47.1 billion in potential sales were approved by the Obama administration, with another $28.7 billion approved under the Trump White House. However, at least some of those announced by the Trump administration began under the previous White House team.
Given the high-dollar figure attached to fighter jet deals, it is no surprise that the Middle East leads the way for DSCA announcements, with 27 announced sales worth an estimated $52 billion.
Because the total is so inflated by a few high-priced items, it is unlikely that DSCA’s FY2018 will match the levels of 2017. But there are still some opportunities for big-ticket items out there. Schweizer highlighted tactical air, helicopters, missile defense and guided munitions as areas that will continue to be in demand.
Callan, meanwhile, highlights potential deals for further THAAD (perhaps to Poland) and Aegis Ashore (publicly being sought by Japan) missile defense systems in 2018, as well as interest in new fighters from Belgium, the UAE, Israel, Japan and South Korea.
Nathan, however, is concerned that the lack of a coordinated security cooperation strategy across the whole U.S. government will affect America’s ability to continue to dominate the international arms trade.
“While a record number of DSCA announcements shows positive momentum in security cooperation, reflecting our government is working with partners to approve these important sales, it does not reflect the fact that the system is facing challenges in supporting the growing pace and scope of U.S. foreign policy, national security and economic objectives,” Nathan said. “We collectively have to do more to accelerate security cooperation improvements if we want to grow the return on investment for the American economy and our international alliances.”
“Resourcing and reforms of this system will arguably have a much bigger, more sustainable impact on sales figures than any particular transaction,” he concluded.
https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2017/09/13/us-clears-record-total-for-arms-sales-in-fy17/
US clears record total for arms sales in FY17
By: Aaron Mehta September 13, 2017
US on Track for Record Foreign Weapon Sales
The State Department has cleared $45.2 billion in sales in just three months.
By: Aaron Mehta
A State Department official declined to address setting the record directly, instead noting that “strengthening the defense capabilities of U.S. allies and their ability to partner with our forces is a smarter approach to protecting the United States, is a force multiplier for the U.S. warfighter, and ultimately, benefits U.S. industry by driving new innovation and creating high-quality American jobs.”
Lt. Cdr. Patrick Evans, a Pentagon spokesman, said DSCA would not comment on total figures until the end of the fiscal year but noted that “sales continue to be strong and continue to indicate the interest of our partners in seeking the quality products and services we offer. Additionally, we have said in the past that when you examine the three-year moving sales averages, you can see the continuing, growing sales trend over the last decade.”
As in 2012, the vast majority of dollars approved came from a few huge notifications. The sale of F-15s to Qatar ($21.1 billion), F/A-18E/F fighters to Kuwait ($10.1 billion), the Canada F/A-18 agreement ($5.2 billion) Patriot PAC-3 weapons to Romania ($3.9 billion), CH-47 Chinooks to Saudi Arabia ($3.51 billion) and Apache AH-64E for the UAE ($3.5 billion) all helped push the total to record highs.
Sign up for our Daily News Roundup
The top Defense News stories of the day
Overall, 17 of the 73 DSCA notifications announced through Sept. 12 total $1 billion or more. Roughly $47.1 billion in potential sales were approved by the Obama administration, with another $28.7 billion approved under the Trump White House. However, at least some of those announced by the Trump administration began under the previous White House team.
Given the high-dollar figure attached to fighter jet deals, it is no surprise that the Middle East leads the way for DSCA announcements, with 27 announced sales worth an estimated $52 billion.
Because the total is so inflated by a few high-priced items, it is unlikely that DSCA’s FY2018 will match the levels of 2017. But there are still some opportunities for big-ticket items out there. Schweizer highlighted tactical air, helicopters, missile defense and guided munitions as areas that will continue to be in demand.
Callan, meanwhile, highlights potential deals for further THAAD (perhaps to Poland) and Aegis Ashore (publicly being sought by Japan) missile defense systems in 2018, as well as interest in new fighters from Belgium, the UAE, Israel, Japan and South Korea.
Nathan, however, is concerned that the lack of a coordinated security cooperation strategy across the whole U.S. government will affect America’s ability to continue to dominate the international arms trade.
“While a record number of DSCA announcements shows positive momentum in security cooperation, reflecting our government is working with partners to approve these important sales, it does not reflect the fact that the system is facing challenges in supporting the growing pace and scope of U.S. foreign policy, national security and economic objectives,” Nathan said. “We collectively have to do more to accelerate security cooperation improvements if we want to grow the return on investment for the American economy and our international alliances.”
“Resourcing and reforms of this system will arguably have a much bigger, more sustainable impact on sales figures than any particular transaction,” he concluded.
https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2017/09/13/us-clears-record-total-for-arms-sales-in-fy17/
