The US government is exploring alternative approaches for supporting defence exports to partner countries, as well as improving the routes to market for partner countries and access to industrial partners.
Deputy Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Jed Royal said at the Riyadh Defense Forum ahead of the World Defense Show (WDS) on 6 March that “There will be a new emphasis in the National Defense Strategy when it is promulgated in the coming months on the importance of relying on allies and partners and new levels of reliability. If that is the case, if we, the United States, make a determination that our national security will be increasingly reliant on the capability and capacity of our allies and partners, we need to invest in that early, and industry is a critical participant in that process. For government, this means greater anticipatory policies, making sure that we are conveying to industry early the importance of which policies are important to us, and making smart bets with limited government resources in areas that we know will be increasingly important for our collective security interests.”
The potential for moving beyond equipment fielded by the US military's programmes of record is also being explored. “We see increasing demand from our allies and partners on non-standard equipment … This is going to be increasingly significant as every relationship is unique and requires tailoring in its own regard. Right now, if the US is buying something for our inventory, there is a natural moment there that raises it to the top of the inbox. In the future, we will need to make sure that we are equally pressing forward on those non-programme requirements, again because of the broadening reliance on allies and partners in the future,” he added.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
