Equipping Foreign Air Forces: How Far Should the US Government Go.

摘要

Selecting the right aircraft and associated armament to sell to a foreign air force can be a complex and risky decision. There is potentially much to be gained by making the good sell, but even more to lose due to a bad decision to sell. Many factors go into the decision, and there are often more countries available to sell similar systems if the US government disapproves the sale. Using the three core values presented in US National Security Strategy, along with some case studies from past sales, this paper develops a set of guidelines. These guidelines can be used to assist in making this somewhat complex decision with consistency and logic. Using this information, the paper finishes with a discussion and general recommendations on what should be done when confronted with future cases of weapons releases involving the F-16, JSF, F-22, AMRAAM, and AIM-9X. All data presented was obtained from public access documents such as magazines, books, and US government web sites. The analysis of cases studied is done with the objective of supporting US National Security.