Foreign Military Sales
Sentfore Insights
This note follows a Foreign Military Sales case from the purchaser's first written request through to a signed and implemented agreement, and gives the response times the governing manual actually states.
The Letter of Request, the three kinds of answer a purchaser can ask for, the published case development standards in days, what acceptance requires, and how a case is changed afterwards.
Pricing methodology, transportation, and the execution of a case after implementation, each of which is a subject in its own right.
A case begins when a partner asks for something in writing. The manual is deliberately broad about the form: requests "are generally referred to as Letters of Request (LORs), whether provided through formal correspondence, requests for proposal (RFPs), discussions, electronic mail (e-mail), letters, or messages" (SAMM C5.2.1).
There is no mandated template. The manual states that "although no specific format is required for an LOR, it must be in writing". It directs purchasers to work with the security cooperation office in country, so that the request covers the items in a generic checklist "to avoid delays during the development of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) document" (SAMM C5.2.1.1).
The submission guidelines at Table C5.T2 are worth reading before drafting one. Among them, the request must identify the articles or services "in sufficient detail for the USG to prepare an accurate cost estimate", state which kind of response is wanted, indicate the proposed method of financing, and carry the originator's name, address "and a traceable reference number".
Only certain organisations may receive a request. The manual states that "certain DoD Components are IAs authorized to receive and respond to LORs" and lists them by table (SAMM C5.2.3). Sending a request to the wrong place does not start the clock.
A purchaser chooses what to ask for, and the choice determines both what arrives and how binding it is.
A Rough Order of Magnitude is the lightest. The manual describes it as "an initial, non-binding cost estimate intended for planning and feasibility assessment", and states plainly that "furnishing this data does not constitute a commitment for the USG to offer for sale the articles and services". The implementing agency "will respond within 30 days" (SAMM C5.4.1). A second request for the same item from the same partner requires a planning case instead.
Price and Availability data sits above that, and is used for international competitions and for building partner capacity. The manual is emphatic about its limits: "P&A responses are not valid for use in preparing a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA)" (SAMM C5.5.2). Every P&A response carries mandatory wording telling the partner that if it wants to proceed, "it must request an LOA".
The manual states two different timings for Price and Availability responses and does not reconcile them. Section C5.5.2 says the implementing agency "will respond within 30 days". Section C5.5.5, headed Price and Availability Preparation Timeframe, says "P&A data estimates will be provided to the prospective purchaser within 45 days of the request". Both figures are quoted here as the manual states them.
The third answer is the real one. The manual defines the LOA as "the legal instrument used by the USG to sell defense articles, defense services including training, and design and construction services to a foreign country or international organization under authorities provided in the Arms Export Control Act". It "itemizes the defense articles and services offered and when implemented, becomes an official tender by the USG" (SAMM C5.6.1).
Standard Terms and Conditions travel with it whether or not anyone attaches them. The manual states they "are an official part of each LOA, whether or not they are attached to a particular copy" (SAMM C5.6.5.4.1).
This is the part most often guessed at, and the manual publishes it. Case development standards are set by category at Table C5.T9, measured from receipt of the request to the offer, and expressed as a percentage met within a number of days.
Blanket order agreements and cooperative logistics arrangements fall in Category A, with a standard of "85% within 45 days". Defined order agreements fall in Category B at "85% within 100 days". Defined order agreements carrying factors expected to significantly affect processing time fall in Category C at "85% within 150 days", measured from the point the request becomes actionable rather than from receipt.
Two things follow from reading the table properly. The standard is a percentage of documents, not a promise about any one of them. And a request that is not yet actionable is not yet on the clock for the longest category, which is why the quality of the original request matters so much.
A signed document is not a live case. The manual states that "LOA implementation occurs when an authorized representative of the partner nation signs the LOA, any required initial deposit has been received by DFAS and deposited, and any required data system implementing transactions have occurred" (SAMM C5.6.13).
Only at that point does the manual describe the case as "a government-to-government agreement between the purchaser government or international organization and the United States".
Altering the document before signing does not work either. Where an agreement is returned with unauthorised handwritten changes, the manual states it "is processed as a counteroffer", and the document is restated and reoffered or cancelled and replaced (SAMM C5.6.12.4).
Cases change. The manual distinguishes two instruments by a single test, which is whether the scope of the case changes.
An Amendment covers anything, "including within-scope changes", and a case "must be amended when there is a change in scope to a case line or note". Those changes "require the FMS purchaser's acceptance" (SAMM C6.7.2.1).
A Modification is the administrative instrument. It is used "to make administrative changes that do not alter the scope of a case, case line, or case note", and those changes "may be accomplished unilaterally by the USG and do not require the FMS purchaser's acceptance" (SAMM C6.7.3.1).
Where a change would alter the purpose of the agreement altogether, neither instrument is right and a new case is developed (SAMM C6.7.1.1).
| LOR | Letter of Request, the purchaser's written request that starts a case. SAMM C5.2.1. |
|---|---|
| ROM | Rough Order of Magnitude, a non-binding planning estimate. SAMM C5.4.1. |
| P&A | Price and Availability data, used for international competitions and building partner capacity. SAMM C5.5. |
| LOA | Letter of Offer and Acceptance. SAMM C5.6.1. |
| DFAS | Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which receives the initial deposit on implementation. |
This note describes public United States government programmes for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.
A case that reaches implementation becomes a delivery problem, and delivery into a difficult environment is where Sentfore works. Its current services cover protective security, armored transport and secure movement, secure facilities and life support, technology and sensor integration, and contingency and expeditionary operations. Sentfore's principals have worked on overseas defense and security programmes in the regions where these requirements arise. Enquiries can be sent through the contact page.
Sentfore, LLC is a United States company based in McLean, Virginia. It provides protective security, armored transport and secure movement, secure facilities and life support, technology and sensor integration, contingency and expeditionary operations, and ISR advisory services for government, defense and commercial organisations operating in complex environments. Contact the team.