United States Navy FMS Ammunition Improvement Program

On 25 January 1982, after a series of planning meetings with cognizant Navy activities, Commander, Naval Supply Systems Command NAVSUP, acting as lead system command for security assistance, established a Naval Material Command-wide Ammunition Improvement Program with two goals Reduce unplanned drawdowns on USN inventory to satisfy Foreign Military Sales FMS requirements. Improve the service to foreign customers by delivering ammunition items on time and within original case values. Over the next 18 months program goals were achieved while dramatically reducing delinquent FMS ammunition requisitions see Chart 1. The Ammunition Improvement Program owes its birth to an October 1981 analysis of Navy performance in achieving on time delivery within original case value for ammunition ca.ses. This analysis yielded the startling statistic that 50 of all open Navy ammunition requisitions would not be delivered on time and had experienced consequent cost growths often exceeding 100. Delinquencies were affecting 40 country programs involving approximately 225 FMS cases and hundreds of requisitions.