On October 15, 2019, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that foreign arm sales for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 totaled $55.4 billion. This amount nearly matches the total from FY 2018 of $55.7 billion, continuing the significant increase in foreign arm sales under the Trump Administration and potentially signaling that the enormous 33 percent … Continue Reading
On May 23, 2019, multiple news outlets reported that the White House was considering an emergency declaration to permit arms shipments to Saudi Arabia without Congressional approval. These reports were met with sharp criticism by multiple legislators. These recent developments shine a spotlight on the contours of the Congressional notice and approval mechanisms set forth in the … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule to expand the definition of “commercial item” under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to include certain items sold in substantial quantities to foreign governments. This new rule implements section 847 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2018 (Pub. L. 115-91), and has the … Continue Reading
Last month, the Department of Defense Inspector General announced that it was undertaking an audit of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Agreement Development Process. The audit will assess how the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), Military Departments, and other organizations coordinate foreign government requirements for defense articles and services and whether DoD maximizes the results … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently published a decision that expanded on its prior Trimble ruling that a foreign government customer cannot sue a U.S. contractor in the Foreign Military Sales (“FMS”) context (at least in U.S. courts). In BAE Sys. Tech. Solution & Servs., Inc. v. Republic of Korea’s Def. Acq. … Continue Reading
U.S. and Israeli defense industries are anxious for details of a ten-year, $38.8 billion military assistance package that was signed in Washington this past September. Whether the terms of the aid package are upended entirely or left mostly unchanged by the current incoming administration will have far reaching consequences on future U.S. and Israeli government … Continue Reading
Last year we reported on bipartisan efforts to fast-track sales of U.S. defense articles and services to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (“Jordan”). Last week President Obama signed into law the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015 (“Act”). … Continue Reading
A recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (the “Court”)—Hyperion, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-870C, — Fed. Cl. — (Mar. 18, 2015)—is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it illustrates the “international agreement” exception to the Competition in Contracting Act (“CICA”). This exception permits the U.S. Government to award a contract to a … Continue Reading
Despite other areas of disagreement involving the defense budget and U.S. military strategy in the Middle East, the Obama Administration and Senate Republicans might be uniting to fast-track the sale of U.S. defense articles and services to U.S. allies fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”). Consider three recent developments involving Jordan.… Continue Reading
