Senators Ricketts and Kaine Introduce the AUKUS Improvement Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the AUKUS Improvement Act. Building upon the bipartisan, AUKUS-enabling legislation in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act, the AUKUS Improvement Act will further streamline defense industrial base collaboration and co-production between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The legislation was also sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Chris Coons (D-DE).
“The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom collectively face our most challenging threat environment since WWII. As we approach the 4th anniversary of AUKUS, it’s clear more should be done to break down bureaucratic obstacles and ensure a more seamless defense innovation and trade environment,” said Ricketts. “By streamlining transfers of critical capabilities to two of our closest allies while also facilitating a more efficient co-production ecosystem, the AUKUS Improvement Act will strengthen our allies’ warfighting edge, improve interoperability, and support our own industrial base.”
“The AUKUS partnership is critical to countering the threat from China and ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains free and open,” said Kaine. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to strengthen AUKUS and boost defense collaboration among our countries.”
The AUKUS Improvement Act would:
- Exempt State Department-vetted entities that have been approved as AUKUS Authorized Users from the requirement to obtain Third Party Transfer approvals under Foreign Military Sales.
- Exempt Australia and the United Kingdom from the need for Congressional Notification for overseas manufacturing.
BACKGROUND:
In the last five years, Australia has placed $23 billion in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) orders, making it one of the biggest users of the FMS process. FMS ensures Australia is procuring the exact same variant that the U.S. military uses, enabling greater interoperability. It also supports American deployed forces operating in Australia through access to spare parts. Australia is often required to transfer elements of equipment procured through FMS to industry for further development, operation, maintenance, and sustainment. In order to do this, it must obtain written consent from the State Department in the form of a Third Party Transfer (TPT) request. However, the TPT process can be slow, with applications often taking many months before being approved. By making TPTs made under FMS subject to similar export controls to those made under AUKUS for Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), the AUKUS Improvement Act will get capability in the hands of our allies faster.
In March 2021, Australia established the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise to expand its munitions and missile stockpiles, establish domestic manufacturing ofguided weapons, and supplement international partners’ supply chains. As part of this announcement, Australia and the U.S. agreed to collaborate on a flexible guided weapons production capability in Australia, with an initial focus on the potential for co-production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) by 2025, and eventual co-production of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
However, the Arms Export Control Act requires Congressional Notification (CN) 15 days prior to approving a commercial technical assistance or manufacturing license agreement to manufacture significant military equipment abroad, regardless of the value. Currently, State Department excludes any transfer of defense articles, technical data, or services that requires a CN from the license-free environment and expedited processing provisions under AUKUS. Therefore, Australia is required to obtain a Manufacturing License Agreement to receive the technical data and manufacturing know-how for each component of a precision-guided munition. This adds complexity, time, and cost, therebylimiting munitions co-production cooperation that benefits both the U.S. and Australia.
Bill text can be found here.