ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION

ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S1664-S1665] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is still available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications that have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such an annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: United States Department of State, Washington, DC. Congressional Notification Transmittal Letter Please find enclosed the following notification from the Department of State. Department Notification Number: RSAT 26-18 Pursuant to the reporting requirements of Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), as amended, we are forwarding Transmittal No. 26-18 concerning the Navy' proposed Letter(s) of Offer and Acceptance to the Government of the United Kingdom for defense articles and services estimated to cost $1 billion. We will issue a news release to notify the public of this proposed sale upon delivery of this letter to your office. Recipients: Speaker of the House of Representatives House Committee on Foreign Affairs Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Sincerely, Paul D. Guaglianone, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Transmittal No. 26-18 Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended (i) (U) Prospective Purchaser: Government of the United Kingdom. (ii) (U) Total Estimated Value: Major Defense Equipment * $0. Other $1 billion. Total $1 billion. (iii) (U) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or Services under Consideration for Purchase: Foreign Military Sales case UK-P-FDL was below congressional notification threshold at $50 million ($0 in MDE) and included non-recurring engineering support; design integration of U.S. equipment; and submarine combat and weapons systems support for design and production of next generation, future class of nuclear-powered attack submarines developed for the Royal Australian Navy and United Kingdom Royal Navy, and developed as part of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), the U.S. (AUKUS); delivery of software and technical publications for combat and weapon systems, and UK liaison office administrative support to the purchaser's security assistance foreign representative(s) at Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters. The government of the UK has requested that the case be amended to include additional non-major defense equipment. This amendment will cause the case to exceed the notification threshold, and thus notification of the entire program is required. The above notification requirements are combined as follows: Major Defense Equipment (MDE): None. Non-Major Defense Equipment: The following non-MDE items will be included: technical assistance to the design and development of AUKUS-specific vertical deployment tubes; common weapon launchers; multiple all-up-round canister support service modules; network input output units; servers and switches and custom electronics, which are specific components of the submarine warfare federated tactical system; simulation equipment; engineering demonstration models; testing and installation equipment; equipment components; information technology hardware; publications and technical documentation; software and source code; U.S. industry support; facility support; personnel training; and embedded U.S. and UK personnel located in both UK and U.S. facilities to support submarine design. Other support services included are U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; test and trials support; studies and surveys; other related elements of engineering services for associated equipment and program support; and other related elements of logistics and program support. (iv) (U) Military Department: Navy (UK-P-FDL). (v) (U) Prior Related Cases, if any: None. (vi) (U) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed to be Paid: None known at this time. (vii) (U) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense Article or Defense Services Proposed to be Sold: See Attached Annex. (viii) (U) Date Report Delivered to Congress: March 20, 2026. * As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act. Transmittal No. 26-18 Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act Annex Item No. vii (vii) Sensitivity of Technology: 1. (U) The United States industry support, facility support, submarine combat and weapons systems hardware, training and embedded U.S. civilian, military and contractor personnel located at United Kingdom (UK) facilities to support nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) Australia, the UK, and the United States (AUKUS) design, non-recurring engineering services collectively provisions for the trilateral AUKUS Pillar I program and the government of the UK's effort to design and deliver the next generation UK attack submarine, SSN-AUKUS. This next generation attack submarine will provide the UK with an effective deterrent capability to protect maritime interests and infrastructure. Technical data and documentation for combat and weapons systems include: (U) Common Weapons Launcher (CWL) is a system that provides electrical and logical interfaces to, and controls the launch of, payloads launched from several classes of submarines through the ships' torpedo tubes, vertical launch (missile/ payload) tubes, and external countermeasure launch modules. (U) The Vertical Deployment Tube (VDT) mechanical assembly is the primary payload tube and ship structure that maintains watertight integrity and can store a removable payload module. The components of the VDT mechanical assembly include the outer hatch system, access doors internal to the ship, and numerous ship system interfaces to support mission specific removable Payload Modules. More specifically, components like the Multiple All-up-round Canister (MAC) support service module, which is a removable assembly located within the submarine's payload tube whose function is to provide ship services to the MAC and ultimately, the Tomahawk cruise missile. (U) The Network Input Output Unit (NIOU) is a part of the Payload Tube Control System and provides the interface between the Payload Tube Control Panel (PTCP) and payload tube system, ship systems (hydraulic system, P/V system, etc.), and the program manager provided equipment. The NIOU receives discrete and analog sensor data, converts the sensor data to digital data, and sends the data to the PTCP controllers. (U) Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical System servers provide powerful specialized computing, storage, and input/ output processing solutions to run multiple combat and control systems tactical applications and manage data across multiple submarine sensors, payloads, and communications subsystems. (U) This proposed sale will provide the UK with Tomahawk missile design information required to support the integration of Tomahawk into a vertical launch configuration for SSN-AUKUS, which will be accomplished via the SSN-AUKUS vertical deployment tubes and the U.S. sourced MAC. 2. (U) The highest level of classification of defense articles, components, and services included in this potential sale is TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION. 3. (U) If a technologically advanced adversary were to obtain knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the information could be used to develop countermeasures that might reduce system effectiveness or be used in the development of a system with similar or advanced capabilities. 4. (U) A determination has been made that the UK can provide substantially the same degree of protection for the sensitive technology being released as the U.S. government. This proposed sale is necessary in furtherance of the U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives outlined in the Policy Justification. 5. (U) All defense articles and services listed in this transmittal have been authorized for release and export to the government of the UK. POLICY JUSTIFICATION (U) United Kingdom--Submarine Combat and Weapon Systems, Technical Support, U.S. and UK Embedded Personnel, and Associated Training (U) The government of the United Kingdom (UK) has requested to buy technical assistance to the design and development of [[Page S1665]] AUKUS-specific vertical deployment tubes; common weapon launchers; multiple all-up-round canister support service modules; network input output units; servers and switches and custom electronics, which are specific components of the submarine warfare federated tactical system; simulation equipment; engineering demonstration models; testing and installation equipment; equipment components; information technology hardware; publications and technical documentation; software and source code; U.S. industry support; facility support; personnel training; and embedded U.S. and UK personnel located in both UK and U.S. facilities to support submarine design. Other support services included are U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logisti