Leaders from the 55th Wing, 55th Electronic Combat Group, and 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron stand ready to receive Air Combat Command’s first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft during a delivery ceremony at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on Aug. 23, 2024. (US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Paige Weldon)
WASHINGTON — The US State Department today gave their blessing to a trio of Foreign Military Sales that would see Italy bring online $680 million-worth of electronic attack systems, India load up $175 million in torpedoes and Romania light up a $110 million radar system.
Specifically Rome appears to be in the market for the Electronic Attack (EA)-37B mission system made by BAE Systems — the radars, encryptors, terminals, etc. that make up the brains of the US Air Force’s EA-37B Compass Call aircraft, which is based on a highly modified Gulfstream G550 [PDF]. Italy reportedly already has a couple Gulfstreams to host the new, high-end equipment.
The potential sale “will improve Italy’s capability to meet current and future threats by increasing interoperability with the United States Air Force (USAF) and disrupting enemy command and control communications when Italy is contributing to overseas contingency operations,” according to an announcement posted to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s website.
Meanwhile, New Dehli has been cleared to proceed with the potential acquisition of 53 aircraft-launched MK 54 MOD 0 Lightweight Torpedo all up rounds, as well as associated equipment and support, including “in-country torpedo training.” The proposed $175 million agreement is one directly with the US government, as DSCA said “a majority of the lightweight torpedos hardware will be purchased directly from U.S. Navy stock.”
Should it go through, the sale would “will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by increasing the size of its anti-submarine weapons stockpile for its MH-60R helicopters,” DSCA said.
More broadly it would “support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the United States-India strategic relationship and improving the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.”
Lastly, Bucharest is a step closer to acquiring four AN/MPQ-64 F1 Sentinel radar systems, made by RTX, along with a host of non-Major Defense Equipment like encryptors, Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) equipment and anti-spoofing tech. The mobile three-dimensional radar systems support “several command and control interfaces, providing consistent air surveillance and fire-control data to weapons that counter unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. It works both at fixed sites and in highly mobile maneuver operations,” according to an RTX description.
“The proposed sale will improve Romania’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations. Romania will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces,” DSCA said.
The announcements do not represent what the final deals may look like, as unit number and prices could change as negotiations continue. Congress could also step in to pause the deals, but that’s a rare occurrence.
