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State Department OKs $6.9 billion in arms sales in one day
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Wednesday cleared four potential foreign military sales packages, which combine for an estimated price tag of over $6.9 billion.
The four packages, if approved by Congress, would involve AH-64E Apache helicopters for Morocco ($4.25 billion), C-130J aircraft for New Zealand ($1.4 billion), naval guns for India ($1.02 billion), and jammers for improvised explosive devices to Australia ($245 million).
The notifications were posted on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. DSCA notifications are not final sales; once cleared by Congress, the sales enter negotiations, during which quantities and costs can shift.
The largest package, Morocco's Apache request, is the first from that country for fiscal 2020 after dropping six FMS requests in FY19, to the tune of $7.27 billion. Read more about the Apache request here.
New Zealand's request would cover five C-130J transport aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. That nation currently operates the older C-130H aircraft, so it's familiar with the airframe.
“This proposed sale will provide the capability to support national, United Nations, and other coalition operations,” the DSCA notification reads. “This purchase also includes sensors and performance improvements that will assist New Zealand during extensive maritime surveillance and reconnaissance as well as improve its search and rescue capability. Additionally, the extra cargo capacity and aircraft performance will greatly increase New Zealand's Antarctic mission capabilities while simultaneously increasing safety margins.”
India's request covers as many as 13 MK 45 5-inch/62-caliber (MOD 4) naval guns, along with 3,500 rounds of D349 Projectile ammunition. Those weapons will be used for “antisurface warfare and anti-air defense missions,” according to DSCA. The program will be managed by BAE Systems, with some sort of industrial offset to be arranged later.
Australia, meanwhile, wants up to 850 Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare Increment 1 Block 1 systems, or JCREW I1B1 for short. These are anti-IED jammer systems; the DSCA announcement says Australia is “interested in procuring the dismounted and mounted variants that have a modular, open architecture and are upgradeable in order to maintain capability against evolving global threats.” Those systems are produced by Northrop Grumman.
The start of FY20 has been good for FMS requests. Since the fiscal year started on Oct. 1, there have been 13 requests cleared by the State Department, with a total estimated value of $13.439 billion in potential sales. The head of the DSCA, Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, has said he hopes a series of reforms will help keep sales strong.
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New small arms course launches to prepare Army Reserve for combat, increase survivability
By: Kyle Rempfer A new Army Reserve small arms trainer course that teaches gunnery and range operations to soldiers has been launched at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Still in its pilot program phase, the course is intended to field weapons subject matter experts at the unit level and increase weapons proficiency among the Reserve force, according to the 88th Readiness Division. The new course lasts 12 days and prepares troops to train their fellow reservists as well as develop year-round training calendars for their home units. The Army Reserve Small Arms Trainer Course focuses on six common weapons: the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, MK19 grenade launcher, M240B machine gun, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M4 carbine/M16 rifle and the Beretta M9. The effort is also part of Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey's larger push to make his component a more combat-ready force through efforts like Task Force Cold Steel — a series of mounted and ground crew-served weapons qualification events. “This is about building the most capable combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the history of the United States,” Luckey said at a Cold Steel training event in February. “This is about building the capacity, the capability, the bench strength of America's Army Reserve to train itself.” At the new course, instructors will teach preliminary marksmanship instruction on each weapon and their optics, as well as teach maintenance for each system. The course will also teach soldiers how to operate weapons ranges and how to procure ammunition through classroom instruction, simulations training and live-fire qualification. “This course is a true train-the-trainers program,” Master Sgt. Howard Griffith, course manager, said in an Army news article. “We take select soldiers from around the entire Army Reserve and provide them with the knowledge and skills to return to their units and educate their fellow soldiers.” An increase in weapons proficiency correlates with an increase in survivability in combat, which ultimately helps win battles, the news article states. The pilot program was designed by instructors from the Army Reserve Competitive Marksmanship Program and will be taught by instructors from Task Force Cold Steel. The Army National Guard and the active-duty force have had similar weapons proficiency courses for many years, and the Reserve component's own version was overdue. If successful, the long-term desire is to keep the new trainer course permanently at Fort McCoy. The installation has state-of-the-art ranges available for year-round training and is conveniently located in the center of the United States, making it easily accessed by vehicle, rail or air, according to the Army. To learn how your unit can take advantage of the Small Arms Trainer Course, contact Task Force Cold Steel at 608-388-4645 or email usarmy.usarc.84-tng-cmd.list.ocs-fy18-s3@mail.mil. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/07/09/new-small-arms-course-launches-to-prepare-army-reserve-for-combat-increase-survivability/