Foreign Military Sales

• Improving the Quality of Foreign Military Sales Forecasting Using Benford's Law

One approach to forecasting future sales might be called the "bottom-up" approach. In general, one tries to forecast the values of all major customers' orders for the upcoming year. Then, these are summed to obtain a forecast for the upcoming year's total sales. This approach can be used in conjunction with other methods, such as examining current sales trends, as part of the overall forecasting process. When using any forecasting method, one needs to understand the quality of the data being used. This paper shows how to use an intriguing mathematical phenomenon called Benford's Law to measure the quality of the data being used for bottom-up forecasting when large numbers of customer orders are expected.

• DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
• Vol. 31 Nbr. 3, November 2009

• 22 CFR 126.6 - Foreign-owned military aircraft and naval vessels, and the Foreign Military Sales program.

• Code of Federal Regulations - Title 22: Foreign Relations

• 22 USC 2769 - Sec. 2769. Foreign military construction sales

• US Code - Title 22: Foreign Relations and Intercourse

• Foreign Military Sales Offsets and Other Issues Affecting Foreign Military Sales Procurements

[...] the risks associated with the contractor satisfying key contract requirements must be considered. [...] contracting officer must consider the value and benefit of these incentives from the customer's perspective.

• DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
• Vol. 31 Nbr. 4, March 2010

• 32 CFR 728.44 - Members of security assistance training programs, foreign military sales, and their ITO authorized dependents.

• Code of Federal Regulations - Title 32: National Defense

• Foreign Military Sales

Foreign Governments Conducting (FMS) Purchases May Not Sue FMS Contractors in U.S. Federal Courts In Secretary of State for Defence v. Trimble Navigation Limited1 (Trimble II), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (UK MOD) was not a third-party beneficiary of Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble), a U.S. Government contractor.

• Army Lawyer, The
• Nbr. 1/2008, January 2008

• A Foreign Military Sales Primer On Hazardous Materials: What Are Competent Authority Approvals? And Why Are They Required for Foreign Military Sales Shipments?

The Military Surface Deployment Distribution Command (SDDC), U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), foreign military sales (FMS) transportation community, and Department of Defense (DoD) Material Manager Safety Offices seek to clarify and update existing procedures for the shipment of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) to FMS customers - especially explosive HAZMAT. For this reason, IHCs and FHCs would not apply to foreign items or assets entering the DTS. [...] it is incumbent upon DoD to have in place a DoT-issued CAA/EX-number before an item can be sold via FMS.

• DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
• Vol. 31 Nbr. 1, March 2009

• Changes to Foreign Military Sales Administrative Surcharge Structure and Rate

On 15 March 2006, the Defense security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced a package of reforms aimed at ensuring the continued solvency of the foreign military sales (FMS) Trust Fund Administrative Account. During an extensive five month study, the Fees Group researched past files to understand the history of the administrative surcharge and LSC, particularly how these charges were implemented and assessed, what rate changes have been made and why, the amount of revenue generated from each charge; by country, by case, by military department, and by fiscal year. While we have not tried to make direct comparisons between FMS and similar support provided by U.S. industry or other defense agencies, our research did show that the FMS program is competitive when compared to similar activit...

• DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
• Vol. 28 Nbr. 2, January 2006

• GAO: Foreign military sales program still flawed ; Defense, State and Homeland Security departments need better cooperation, report says.

In March 2008, the Department of Defense disclosed that it mistakenly transferred intercontinental ballistic missile parts to Taiwan through a U.S. program that sells pre-approved defense articles and services to foreign governments. In a new report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security still haven't corrected weaknesses that the GAO identified -- as early as 2003 -- in the government's monitoring of articles shipped through the foreign military sales (FMS) program.

• Dayton Daily News
• June 30, 2009

• Defense Exports Foreign Military Sales Program Needs Better Controls for Exported Items and Information for Oversight

The GAO was asked to: * Evaluate program changes DOS, DOD, and DHS have made since 2003 to ensure that unclassified defense articles transferred to foreign governments are authorized for shipment and monitored as required * Determine what information DOD has to administer and oversee the FMS program The GAO conducted sixteen case studies, analyzed U.S. port data, FMS agreements, reviewed program performance metrics, and interviewed cognizant officials. In 2003, we identified significant weaknesses in the control mechanisms the FMS program uses to safeguard defense articles transferred to foreign governments.2 Specifically, we found that in some cases FMS shipments were not properly authorized and that actions were still needed to implement statutory end-use monitoring requirements to e...

• DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
• Vol. 31 Nbr. 3, November 2009