Four steps to successful FMS

By Mr. Peter Burke and Mr. Ted Hom, PEO AmmunitionDecember 29, 2015

PGK PRESENTATION
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FMS Success
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ON TARGET
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INTERNATIONAL EFFORT
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Foreign military sales (FMS) require a tremendous amount of planning, preparation and sensitivity to the customer's culture, values and needs. But most of all, they require solid communication among all stakeholders.

It is easy to identify these tenets, but to execute them is certainly a challenge. The challenge is worth it, though, because FMS build strategic relations, and result in an improved U.S. defense posture, partner nation security and interoperability with nations. FMS also saves the Army money, because buying a larger order with partner nations leads to a lower per-unit price.

In today's environment, with increasing hot spots in the Middle East and Western Europe, rumblings in the Pacific Rim and limited military resources, FMS are becoming a more important mechanism to train, equip and operate with our allies.

STEP ONE: BUILD A GOOD PRODUCT

The Precision Guidance Kit (PGK) is a good case study of what it takes to create a successful FMS case. The PGK is a GPS device with fuzing functions, and uses GPS and control surfaces to guide 155 mm projectiles to the programmed target grid with a high degree of accuracy, reducing collateral damage and enabling quicker success. It is an Acquisition Category (ACAT) Level II effort, achieving urgent materiel release in March 2013 and anticipated to secure type classification-standard/full materiel release (TC-STD/FMR) in the first quarter of FY16. The kit meets international standards for safety and compatibility, and is attractive for FMS because it turns a conventional stockpile of 155 mm projectiles into near-precision munitions.

It's capable of mitigating the shortcomings of current area engagement munitions by enabling the maneuver commander to engage critical targets, including fleeting and "short dwell" targets, with increased accuracy and effectiveness. Without the high performance and high degree of compatibility, few nations would want to buy the PGK.

STEP TWO: BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

Solid performance of equipment is just the first threshold to enable the interplay of different stakeholders to go forth with a possible FMS case. The Office of the Project Manager for Combat Ammunition Systems (OPM CAS) is a proactive player in the early stages of the FMS case development.

Within the PGK program, OPM CAS developed solid working relations with many partners before embarking on the sale. These partners included United States Security Assistance Command (USASAC), Redstone Arsenal, AL; Joint Munitions Command (JMC), Rock Island, IL; Department of the Army-Defense Export Cooperation (DASA(DE&C)), Washington, DC; different Offices of Defense Cooperation (ODCs); U.S. embassies worldwide; Program Executive Office Ammunition (PEO Ammunition), Picatinny Arsenal, NJ; and Army Test and Evaluation Command's facility at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), AZ.

The success of the PGK depends on its interfaces with the projectile, weapon, fire-control system and GPS constellation. In other words, a potential customer cannot simply procure the item off the shelf. The PM office, as the center of this indirect-fire ecosystem, is responsible for evaluating how the PGK will work on a candidate weapon system, which may be significantly different from what it was qualified on in the United States. Recognizing this early in the strategic planning for FMS, PM CAS took action to build up an in-house capability to quickly evaluate foreign systems' compatibility with PGK in order to have a realistic scope of work in hand during discussions with candidate buyers.

The coordination of different stakeholders, with strong communication brokered by the PM, is also critical in paving the way to develop and execute an FMS case. Constant follow-up and status updates help keep the case flowing.

STEP THREE: KNOW THE BENEFITS

Besides the obvious benefits of interoperability and strengthening ties with our allies, FMS act as a strategic enabler to benefit the Army and the warfighter.

The PGK production contract was structured to realize a benefit from the economies of scale from higher volume production: The contract defined lower prices based on higher quantities ordered in a given period. As FMS orders come in, partner nation funding is added to the U.S. Army's order, resulting in a lower average unit cost, enabling all to benefit with higher quantities for the same amount of funding.

STEP FOUR: HAVE A PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT

With these benefits in mind, OPM CAS developed a plan of engagement that has enabled successful foreign sales of the PGK. PM CAS briefs at international conferences, meetings or visits at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, where PM CAS is located, presenting unclassified information regarding PGK, and often capturing the interest of the allied party because of the kits' high performance and potential to greatly improve their indirect fire capabilities. The allied party typically has a national course-correction fuze requirement (adding a precision capability within the fuze module to improve conventional ammunition precision) and sees that PGK could possibly fulfill their needs.

The allied nation will typically then request a follow-up unclassified PGK briefing in their country so more military and technical experts can evaluate the program. Briefings are typically presented by PM CAS at the U.S. embassy in the host nation, coordinated with the ODC of the host country, USASAC, DASA(DE&C) and PEO Ammunition.

Upon successful briefing and discussions, OPM CAS invites the interested nation to witness a PGK lot acceptance test at YPG. The week spent at Yuma with the country representatives, getting to learn more about PGK and building a strong relationship based on trust, is invaluable. This is the spirit of international cooperation and coalition building.

Just because the FMS case is signed does not mean that the work is over. Once an FMS case has been signed, its execution (conduct new equipment training, publish technical manuals, produce, ship and deliver defense articles) still requires care and diligence. The JMC case managers and the host-nation acceptance teams must work closely to ensure the defense articles and training materials are delivered and documented as promised. FMS program management reviews are critical to make sure all defense articles and services are identified and scheduled for delivery.

Allies have decided to partner with the United States on PGK based on this plan of engagement, with its strong communication framework. Furthermore, this framework has resulted in a 13 percent decrease in PGK production unit cost in FY15. This plan of engagement has also been applied successfully in other programs, such as the 155 mm Excalibur, a GPS-guided 155 mm artillery round and an ACAT Level I program that has been sold to Sweden, Canada and Australia, and can be used across other programs.

CONCLUSION

FMS case development and execution is a detail-oriented endeavor in meeting allied customer needs. Communication is the cornerstone of all the facets of FMS, including relationship building, interplay of national and international stakeholders, proactive follow-up, a solid plan of engagement and--of utmost importance--the highly reliable performance of equipment to be sold. All of these efforts result in our allies being able to fight shoulder to shoulder with us, using common equipment in present and future conflicts, and the economy of scale results in lower prices for the Army.

Related Links:

U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center

Army AL&T Magazine

PEO Ammunition

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