Defense Trade: Department of Defense Savings From Export Sales Are Difficult to Capture

摘要

In 1998, the Department of Defense (DOD) and its contractors planned to sell to foreign countries defense equipment, articles, and services worth a total of about $44.3 billion. One of the U.S. government's goals in exporting defense items, as articulated in the 1995 Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, is to allow DOD to meet its defense requirements at less cost. To determine whether DOD is maximizing this benefit, we reviewed the sales of five major weapon systems-the Hellfire Missile, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), Black Hawk Helicopter, and Aegis Weapon System. Specifically, we determined whether (1) export sales reduced the price of the five weapon systems, (2) DOD waived the requirement to recover nonrecurring research and development and production costs associated with the sales, and (3) DOD included this information when notifying the Congress about the sales or requesting budgetary authority to purchase the weapon systems.