Defense trade associations issue recommendations for modernization of Foreign Military Sales system

Three defense trade associations recently issued recommendations to modernize the domestic Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system elements.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), and the Professional Services Council (PSC) detailed the recommendations in a report solicited by the U.S. Department of Defense’s new tiger team.

“Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of international cooperation when the Department of Defense commits to using all tools at its disposal to support our allies and partners,” AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning said. “The Foreign Military Sales system has the potential to be an incredibly effective tool for deterrence, but it operates like the Cold War-era system it is: slowly and inflexibly.”

Fanning said the recommendations would aid the Pentagon in building a more nimble, modern, and strategic Foreign Military Sales system strengthening alliances and partnerships while bolstering national security.

Seven core themes serve as the focus of the recommendations: accessible and transparent communication; a strategic and creative FMS process; a resourced and flexible acquisition process; defense export financing and the expansion of DoD’s Special Defense Acquisition Fund; a modern technology release process; improved exportability; and enhanced support of Non-Program of Record (NPOR) systems.

“In Great Power Competition, the U.S. has two strategic advantages – our Allies and partners and our innovative defense industrial base,” NDIA President and CEO David L. Norquist said. “The proposed reforms to modernize our foreign military sales process are critical in order to increase interoperability and capacity of our Allies and partners and to improve the transparency and predictability industry partners need to support the Department of Defense in fully realizing the benefits of this powerful foreign policy tool to support the National Defense Strategy.”