Arms Sales Notification — Government of the United Kingdom ($1 billion): None
Key claim: The United States notified Congress of a proposed $1 billion Foreign Military Sale to the United Kingdom for non-MDE technical assistance, design integration, and submarine combat/weapons systems support for next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS partnership.
Abstract
(Notice · Defense Department) The DoW is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification.
AGENCY: Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Arms sales notice.
SUMMARY: The DoW is publishing the unclassified text of an arms sales notification. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Urooj Zahra at (703) 695-6233, [email protected] , or [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 36(b) arms sales notification is published to fulfill the requirements of section 155 of Public Law 104- 164 dated July 21, 1996. The following is a copy of the attached Transmittal 26-18, Policy Justification, and Sensitivity of Technology. Dated: May 4, 2026. Stephanie J. Bost, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. Transmittal No. 26-18 Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended (i) Prospective Purchaser: Government of the United Kingdom (ii) Total Estimated Value: Major Defense Equipment *… $0 Other… $1 billion
TOTAL… $1 billion (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or Services under Consideration for Purchase: Foreign Military Sales case UK-P-FDL was below congressional notification threshold at $50 million ($0 in MDE) and included non-recurring engineering support; design integration of U.S. equipment; and submarine combat and weapons systems support for design and production of next generation, future class of nuclear-powered attack submarines developed for the Royal Australian Navy and United Kingdom Royal Navy, and developed as part of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), the U.S. (AUKUS); delivery of software and technical publications for combat and weapon systems, and UK liaison office administrative support to the purchaser’s security assistance foreign representative(s) at Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters. The [[Page 24857]] Government of the UK has requested that the case be amended to include additional non-major defense equipment. This amendment will cause the case to exceed the notification threshold, and thus notification of the entire program is required. The above notification requirements are combined as follows: Major Defense Equipment (MDE): None Non-Major Defense Equipment: The following non-MDE items will be included: technical assistance to the design and dev
Why this matters
This $1B FMS package extends US arms-transfer instruments beyond bilateral Indo-Pacific recipients into the AUKUS trilateral architecture, funding the UK-side industrial base that will deliver SSN-AUKUS boats to Australia. Tracking it alongside Australia-directed AUKUS commitments gives a fuller picture of how the US is underwriting allied submarine capability in the Indo-Pacific.