The State Department approved a possible $380 million foreign military sale (FMS) request to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), sustainment and associated equipment, parts and logistical support.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the potential sale on Nov. 4.
The requested FMS would include major defense equipment (MDE) of 3250 GBU-31V1 (KMU-556 JDAM kit) with 3250 MK-84/BLU-117 bombs, 750 GBU-31V3 (KMU-557 JDAM kit) with 750 BLU-109 bombs, 1000 GBU-12 with 1002 MK-82/BLU-111 bombs, 4,250 FMU-152 fuzes, and 216 GBU-24 tail kits (BSU-84).
The sale also includes non-MDE-related munitions items including fuzes, bomb components, sustainment, and support.
The primary contractors will be determined during the contracting process and were not known by time of notice release.
The UAE would use the JDAM equipment to sustain the country’s coalition efforts in Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and as part of the Saudi-led coalition to restore the legitimate government in Yemen.
DSCA highlighted the FMS’s ability to help the UAE meet the ISIL threat and how the UAE provides host-nation support to U.S. forces stationed at the Al Dhafra Air Base.
“These munitions will sustain the UAE’s efforts and support a key partner that remains an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” DSCA said in a statement.
Implementation of the FMS would entail periodic Program Management Reviews in the United States or UAE. No additional U.S. government or contractor representatives are anticipated to be stationed in the UAE because of the sale.
The JDAM was developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA].