In an era where the U.S. is increasingly interested in sharing the offerings of its defense industrial base with allies, bureaucratic red tape is sometimes the only thing standing in the way of making foreign military sales—FMS for short. Defense News reported in mid-August that if major allies like the U.K. and Australia wanted to procure weapons from the U.S., they would have to subject themselves to a complicated application that could take over a month to be approved. In the heat of a conflict scenario especially, this could be too long a wait.
As of Sept. 1, though, the wait is over for the U.K. and Australia. As part of a joint directive agreed upon by AUKUS — the three nations’ shared organization stood up in 2021 with the purpose of accelerating technology exchange and development — the State Department lifted the rules that stated these countries need a license to buy American arms. Or at least, it issued that about 80 percent of arms could be acquired license-free.
If you want to hear defense tech experts go more in-depth about the central issues of FMS and how international alliances relate to government contracting, be sure to sign up for Potomac Officers Club’s GovCon International Summit. The event will be hosted on Oct. 10 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Virginia. Check out the full lineup and schedule here.
Exemptions to the Rule
The only exemptions to the red tape bypass are missile products, or items that fall under international restrictions, like land mines and chemical weapons. Some/most of these are still purchasable, the countries just need a license to do so.
However, the new policy, which is currently labeled an “interim final rule,” will “facilitate billions of dollars in secure defense trade between and among the AUKUS nations,” a State Department official told Defense News. And the department plans to push through applications for the exempted weapons faster for AUKUS countries.
The rule is open to public comment for the duration of September.
In harmony with the U.S. easing of requirements, the U.K. officially stated it will allocate $643 million of its export budget to U.S.-made defense products and Australia extinguished its prior necessitation of 900 permits to export products to the U.S. and U.K.
The GovCon International Summit is the most essential globally-focused GovCon event of the year. Don’t miss out: block off Oct. 10 on your calendar and register today!
