With eye on allies and partners, Pentagon makes changes in its foreign military sales process

Washington: In a significant shift, the US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin has instructed agencies implementing foreign military sales (FMS) to improve their understanding of requirements of allies and partners; enable efficient reviews for the release of technology; provide allies and partners priority capabilities; accelerate acquisition and contracting support; and incorporate the requirements of allies and partners in the expansion of US’s own defence industrial base capacity.

Austin’s decision comes in the wake of a concerted effort by the US to build a networked security architecture in the Indo-Pacific and ease the rigid system of export controls that govern sales and tech transfer of US systems even to the closest allies. The decision is also expected to help the relationship with India, with which the US has just concluded a road map on defence industrial cooperation.

In a statement, the department of defence (DOD) said that Austin had set up a FMS Tiger Team in 2022 “to address historical inefficiencies in the United States’ transfer of defence articles and services to foreign allies and partners”. Under FMS, the US government uses DoD’s acquisition system to procure defence articles and services on behalf of allies and partner nations. The Tiger Team’s recommendations are leading to six shifts.

One, to understand needs of allies and partners, DoD will change the way it “organises, trains, and equips for security cooperation, including by establishing a Defence Security Cooperation Service on par with the Defence Attaché Service”. Two, for the efficient release of technology, DoD will “review and update policies”, empower accountable officials, and work with other agencies. Three, to help allies and partners meet their own national security needs, DoD will improve its own methodologies.

Four, to accelerate acquisition, it will establish contract award standards and develop process maps to monitor FMS priorities. Five, in the process of expanding its own defence industrial capacity, DoD will develop a comprehensive study to incentivise DIB investment in production capacity and building surge capability for high-demand, low-supply platforms, systems, and services. “The strategy will include use of multi-year contracts; enhanced use of the Special Defence Acquisition Fund; five-year predictive analyses of partner demand; and sustained engagement with the DIB.” And finally, DoD will work with state department and the US Congress to improve these processes.

Explaining the significance of Pentagon’s decision, including for India, Frank O’Donnell, a non-resident fellow at the Stimson Centre South Asia programme, said, “This initiative shows that DoD, at its most senior levels, is committed to streamlining defence technology cooperation with partners and allies. India’s capability requirements will be central in shaping these reforms, and Delhi can expect to similarly be one of its key beneficiaries.”

However, he said that similar urgency was required from India in demonstrating its willingness to reduce bureaucratic barriers to defence technology cooperation and interoperability with the US. “The upcoming state visit of the Prime Minister - and, in particular, the related proposed Predator acquisition, long beset by delays on the Indian side - are prime opportunities for Delhi to underline this intent.”

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