$231M Bomb Sale to NATO Agency Launches New Acquisition Initiative

WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency for precision guided munitions, equipment, and support. The estimated cost is $231 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on August 9, 2016.

NATO Support and Procurement Agency as Lead Nation has requested a possible sale of precision guided munitions for subsequent retransfer to Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. Included are:

-- five hundred (500) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits, KMU-556 F/B;
-- forty (40) JDAM Guidance Kits, KMU-557 F/B;
-- one thousand five hundred (1,500) JDAM Guidance Kits, KMU-572 F/B;
-- one thousand (1,000) MAU 210 E/B Computer Control Groups for 1,000-lb. Enhanced Paveway IIs;
-- three hundred (300) MAU 210 E/B Computer Control Groups for GBU-49s;
-- one thousand twenty-five (1,025) MAU 169 L/B Computer Control Groups for GBU-12s;
-- one thousand three hundred fifty (1,350) Joint Programmable Fuzes, FMU-152 A/B;
-- sixty (60) Bomb Fin Assembly and Airfoil Group 650-MXU K/B for GBU-12s;
-- one thousand twenty-five (1,025) Bomb Fin Assembly and Airfoil Group, MXU-650 K/B AFG for GBU-12s.

It also includes Detector Sensing Unit (DSU)-38A/B Laser sensors; DSU-33D/B proximity sensors; Wireless Paveway Avionics Kit (WIPAK) interfaces for Enhanced Paveway II bombs; FMU-139C/B electronic bomb fuzes; repair and return services; transportation; engineering services; and other support services. The estimated value is $231 million.

The proposed sale improves NATO members' capability to meet current and future ground threats with precision. They will use the enhanced capacity as a deterrent to regional threats, and to increase interoperability within contingency operations. Many of the purchasing nations already have precision-guided munitions in their inventories and will have no difficulty absorbing these additional munitions.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors for production are the Boeing Corporation of St Louis, Missouri, and Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to NATO.

There is no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This innovative contract, in which NATO allies pool their funds to make bulk purchases and obtain lower prices, is the first concrete application of the “Lead Nation Procurement Initiative, a US government plan launched in 2014 to make its weapons more affordable.
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In this case, however, the “lead nation” is the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.)
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