The State Department approved a possible $386 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) request to Australia GBU-39 (Small Diameter Bomb Increment I) and associated equipment, training, and support.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the potential sale on April 4.
The sale would include major defense equipment (MDE) of up to 2,950 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb Is (SDB I) and up to 50 Guided Test Vehicles (GTV) with GBU-39 (T-1)/B (Inert Fuze). The MDE is valued at about $172 million.
Non-MDE in the sale includes containers, weapons system support equipment, support and test equipment, site survey, transportation, repair and return warranties, spare and repair parts, publications and technical data, maintenance, personnel training, and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor representative engineering, logistics, and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics support.
The prime contractor is Boeing [BA], although the principal contractor for integration is unknown and will be determined during contract negotiations.
The sale supports and complements the on-going sale of the F-35B to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), DSCA said.
“This capability will strengthen combined operations and increase interoperability between the U.S. Air Force and the RAAF,” the agency said in a statement.
Implementation of the FMS would not require the assignment of additional U.S. government or contractor representatives to Australia.