FOREIGN MILITARY SALES
_The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program is the government-to-government method for selling U.S. defense equipment, services, and training. Responsible arms sales further national security and foreign policy objectives by strengthening bilateral defense relations, supporting coalition building, and enhancing interoperability between U.S. forces and militaries of friends and allies.
The U.S. Department of Defense's FMS program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments. The purchaser does not deal directly with the defense contractor; instead, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency serves as an intermediary, usually handling procurement, logistics and delivery and often providing product support, training, and infrastructure construction (such as hangars, runways, utilities, etc.). The Defense Contract Management Agency often accepts FMS equipment on behalf of the US government.
FMS is based on countries being authorized to participate, cases as the mechanism to procure services, and a deposit in a US Trust Fund or appropriate credit and approval to fund services.
The legal basis for the FMS Program can be found in the Foreign Military Sales Act of 1968, the Arms Export Control Act and the International Security and Development Cooperation Act.
Procedure
When defense articles or services are required, the requesting country's representative in the defense establishment of the country or stationed at the embassy in the U.S. provides a letter of request (LOR) to the representative's U.S. counterpart. The U.S. counterpart forwards an information copy of the request to the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The original is furnished to the DoD Military Department (MILDEP – Army, Navy, or Air Force) or Defense Agency which will prepare the response.
Defense articles, including major defense systems, subsystems, support equipment, repair parts, and publications are provided under Security Cooperation. Services, including training in U.S. military schools or through mobile training teams, construction, engineering, contract administration, program management, technical support, and repair are also provided. Due to interest in encouraging standardization and interoperability among U.S. and SC countries, FMS normally involves the transfer of those items which have been fielded with U.S. forces.
Under certain conditions, cooperative programs such as coproduction and co-assembly under international agreements, technical assistance services, technical data, and leases of defense items are available.
All LOR's can be addressed to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA).
The U.S. Department of Defense's FMS program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments. The purchaser does not deal directly with the defense contractor; instead, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency serves as an intermediary, usually handling procurement, logistics and delivery and often providing product support, training, and infrastructure construction (such as hangars, runways, utilities, etc.). The Defense Contract Management Agency often accepts FMS equipment on behalf of the US government.
FMS is based on countries being authorized to participate, cases as the mechanism to procure services, and a deposit in a US Trust Fund or appropriate credit and approval to fund services.
The legal basis for the FMS Program can be found in the Foreign Military Sales Act of 1968, the Arms Export Control Act and the International Security and Development Cooperation Act.
Procedure
When defense articles or services are required, the requesting country's representative in the defense establishment of the country or stationed at the embassy in the U.S. provides a letter of request (LOR) to the representative's U.S. counterpart. The U.S. counterpart forwards an information copy of the request to the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The original is furnished to the DoD Military Department (MILDEP – Army, Navy, or Air Force) or Defense Agency which will prepare the response.
Defense articles, including major defense systems, subsystems, support equipment, repair parts, and publications are provided under Security Cooperation. Services, including training in U.S. military schools or through mobile training teams, construction, engineering, contract administration, program management, technical support, and repair are also provided. Due to interest in encouraging standardization and interoperability among U.S. and SC countries, FMS normally involves the transfer of those items which have been fielded with U.S. forces.
Under certain conditions, cooperative programs such as coproduction and co-assembly under international agreements, technical assistance services, technical data, and leases of defense items are available.
All LOR's can be addressed to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA).