Exactly right. Watch it die

ARTICLE: New Delhi Wants To Buy Lockheed C-130Js From U.S., By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI, DefenseNews.com,05/03/07

The perfect SysAdmin military sale: C-130s, as I learned on a very remote and short strip in Kenya in March, are great at landing where other planes cannot.

This is exactly the sort of stuff we want to sell India. But watch it get screwed up in Congress for all sorts of stupid reasons--meaning nukes.

Thanks to Pete Johnson for sending this.

Comments

[HotSpock]

Totally rookie question, perhaps, but why couldn't Lockheed contract directly with the Indian government?

Why is Congressional approval required for this type of commercial transaction?

Is military equipment subject to export restriction?

[Tyler Durden]

HotspockIn this case, India is buying the aircraft through Foreign Military Sales (FMS). Under the Arms Export Control Act any USG sale of significant military equipment over a certain dollar figure requires Congressional notification.

A Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) does not require Congressional notification but a US company must obtain an export license in order to sell to a foreign government. An export license is obtained through the Department of State (DOS) and does not necessarily require Congressional notification either. However, the Congress has many and varied ways to pressure the DOS if it doesn't want a sale to take place.

The advantage of FMS over DCS is that they will get the total package (planes, parts, maintenance, and training). This is a must given that they have not previously used this airframe. In addition, with FMS, the USG purchases the equipment (at no cost to the government) and sells it to India (non-profit). With the USG as the middleman India has a fairly solid guarantee that they will not get "screwed" (unless they have an Islamic revolution and seize our Embassy; then we deny them parts for the next thirty years;)

[Anonymous]

thanks for the great answer, Tyler!

[Andrew Smith]

I'm sure that if you read this blog, you no doubt picked up on the reference to the sale of Lockeed C-130s to Shah's govt in Iran before the revolution. "unless they have an Islamic revolution and seize our Embassy; then we deny them parts for the next thirty years". As a kid growing up in Marietta, GA, just driving up Hwy 41 you could look out on the flightline and see the C-130s that the Shah's Iran had bought sit there rusting. It was like an odd monument to foreign policy. They are still there!

[Matt R.]

I worked at an Air Logistics Center (Warner Robins in GA) for 2 years. Many times during my tour there we had foreign aircrews picking up their airfcraft. It was almost like a Certified Pre-Owned program from a car dealer. The depot would do the large maintenance on the planes to get them ready for another X amount of flying hours. Those deemed excess or obsolete would be sold. If I remember correctly, I personally briefed a Colombian and a Guatemalan aircrew. I know that there were more. The FMS program is a GREAT program for building ties in the defense and economic realms.