Foreign Military Sales: Air Force Controls Over the FMS Program Need Improvement

The Arms Export Control Act gives the President authority to sell defense articles and services to eligible foreign countries, generally at no cost to the U.S. government. While the Defense Security Cooperation Agency DSCA has overall responsibility for administering the FMS program, the Army, Navy, and Air Force generally execute the sales agreements-commonly referred to as sales cases. Foreign military sales are made on an individual case basis. A foreign country representative initiates a case by sending a letter of request to DOD asking for information, such as the price and availability of goods, training, technical assistance, follow-on support, or other services. Once the customer decides to proceed with the purchase, DOD prepares a Letter of Offer and Acceptance LOA stating the terms of the sale for the items and services being provided. After the LOA is accepted, the FMS customer is generally required to pay, in advance, amounts necessary to cover costs associated with the services or items purchased from DOD. The Department of the Treasury holds these advance payments in an FMS trust fund.