The State Department has approved a potential $1.2 billion deal with the Netherlands for Patriot MIM-104 E Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) and a $235 million sale of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles – Extended Range weapons to Australia.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on Thursday of both foreign military sales (FMS).
The deal with the Netherlands would cover 96 of the Raytheon Technologies [RTX]-manufactured Patriot MIM-104E GEM-T surface-to-air missiles.
“The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Netherlands’ military and supports its goal of improving national and territorial defense as well as interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces,” the DSCA said in a statement.
For Australia, the FMS case covers 80 of Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] JASSM-ER missiles as well as missile containers, training missiles and support equipment.
“The proposed sale will improve Australia’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing advanced, long-range strike systems for employment from Royal Australian Air Force air platforms including, but not limited to, the F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35A Lightning II,” the DSCA wrote.
The investment firm Jefferies noted in a recent report that FMS notifications for the year to date, excluding the two new cases, have totaled $37.9 billion, up 118 percent from the $17.4 billion approved over the same period in 2021.
“International sales will ultimately benefit from prior notifications as they are cleared and contracted, with the pipeline remaining robust,” the firm wrote in its report.