Foreign Military Sales
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is a security assistance program of the of the United States government to facilitate the purchase of U.S. arms, defense equipment, design and construction services, and military training to foreign governments.[1] The Foreign Military Sales program was established through the 1976 Arms Export Control Act.[2] FMS allows foreign governments to avoid contracts risks caused by dealing with arms industry by purchasing from the United States Department of Defense through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).[2]
The purchaser does not deal directly with the defense contractor; instead, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) serves as an intermediary, usually handling procurement, logistics, and delivery, often providing product support, training, and infrastructure construction (such as hangars, runways, utilities, etc.).[citation needed]
FMS is carried out with countries that are authorized to participate and is subject to approval based on the mechanism to procure services, a deposit in a U.S. trust fund or appropriate credit, and approval to fund services. On any given day, DSCA is managing “14,000 open foreign military sales cases with 185 countries,” the DSCA director Lieutenant General Charles Hooper explained at the Brookings Institution in June 2019.[1]
Some U.S. Air Force (USAF) FMS programs are assigned two-word code names beginning with the word PEACE, indicating oversight by USAF headquarters.[3] The second word in these codenames is often chosen to reflect some facet of the customer. Codenames appear in all capital letters.[citation needed]
In fiscal 2020, U.S. military-industry sold $50.8 billion via FMS and $124.3 billion via direct commercial sales (DCS).[2]
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency emphasizes that FMS is "a fundamental tool of U.S. foreign policy."[4]
In 2023, the U.S. recorded the highest annual sales of U.S. military equipment to foreign governments, carried out under the FMS system, valued at $80.9 billion. This marked a 55.9% increase compared to the $51.9 billion recorded in 2022.[5]
See also[edit]
- Foreign Military Sales Act of 1968
- Foreign Military Sales Act of 1971
- List of F-16 FMS programs
- United States Foreign Military Financing
References[edit]
- ^ a b Twardowski, Adam (2019-06-11). "Advancing U.S. interests through security cooperation". Brookings. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ a b c Mehta, Aaron (2020-12-04). "America sold $175 billion in weapons abroad in FY20". Defense News. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
- ^ "U.S. Military Code Names". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Foreign Military Sales (FMS) | Defense Security Cooperation Agency". www.dsca.mil. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. Arms Transfers and Defense Trade". U.S. Department of State. 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
External links[edit]
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