Introduction

In the United States, the State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Japan for air-to-surface munitions and related equipment at an estimated cost of $82 million.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has issued the required certification and notified Congress.

Details

The Japanese government has requested to purchase up to twenty-eight GBU-53 Small Diameter Bombs-Increment II (SDB-II) which will be added to a previously implemented case that was valued below the threshold for notification to Congress. The original Foreign Military Sale (FMS) case was valued at $81.04 million.

This notice concerns a combined total of up to one hundred and twenty GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs-Increment I (SDB-I), twenty-eight GBU-53 SDB-II (AUR), thirty Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) KMU-556 tail kits for GBU-31, twenty JDAM KMU-559 tail kits for GBU-32, twenty-four JDAM KMU-572 tail kits for GBU-38, twenty-four general-purpose (GP) 500-pound MK-82 bombs, thirty 2,000-pound GP MK-84 bombs and twenty-one 1,000-pound GP BLU-110 bombs.

Impact

The proposed sale will enhance Japan’s ability to meet current and future threats, by providing stand-off capability via advanced long-range attack systems for use by Japanese Air Self-Defense Force combat aircraft.

The main contractors will be Boeing Company and RTX Corporation; implementing this called for sale does not require the assignment of additional US Government or contractor representatives in Japan.

Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

Photo credit @ RTX Corporation