From De Gaulle onwards, France’s strategic independence has been predicated on self-sufficiency in modern weapons. To achieve and maintain the requisite defence-industrial base, in the context of limited domestic orders, Paris sought to promote the export of its arms. During the Cold War, this underpinned but was also an expression of France’s determination to resist bipolar domination. France offered customers around the world an alternative to reliance on one superpower or the other; and in doing so it generated the revenue to support an extensive domestic arms industry. The end of the Cold War ushered in fundamental changes, however: Western defence spending shrank and the global market was turned upside down. While France’s arms-export policy was less affected by human-rights concerns than other democracies, it was not immune to pressures stemming from the consolidation of Europe’s defence-industrial base and the increased interest of the EU in regulating the arms trade. This Adelphi book considers how France has responded to changing political and market circumstances in the way that it promotes and controls the export of weapons. It examines the rationale for considering a liberal arms-export policy as essential to French independence, and the institutional arrangements that underpinned this. It tracks the dramatic changes in the global arms market since 1990, in terms of demand and market competition, and charts the response of the French government to these changes. The book underlines how the French machinery of government, as a directing force behind the defence industry, has been resistant to the notion of export restraint – even in the case of sales to authoritarian regimes. However, it argues that France now faces a dilemma over whether to continue with a long-successful course, or to moderate its independence through greater collaboration to bolster European integration and better compete globally.

This book addresses the U.S. economic impact of possible restrictions that might be placed on the sale of specific combat equipment to selected countries in the Middle East. It focuses on prospective demand for advanced equipment by Jordan and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The U.S. government exports billions of dollars of defense articles and services annually to foreign entities, generally through direct commercial sales (DCS) from U.S. companies under licenses issued by the State Dept. or through the DoD Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. This report: (1) identified the magnitude and nature of defense articles and services exported; and (2) assessed information currently reported on defense exports and any gaps and limitations in defense export data. To conduct this work, the report analyzed export data from DoD for FMS and the Dept. of Commerce's U.S. Census Bureau for DCS for 2005 through 2009. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find report.

In FY 2008, the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program sold over $36 billion dollars in defense articles and services to foreign governments. The Depts. of State, DoD, and Homeland Security (DHS) all have a role in the FMS program. In 2003, significant weaknesses were identified in FMS control mechanisms for safeguarding defense articles transferred to foreign governments. The protection of technologies critical to U.S. national security is a high-risk area. This report: (1) evaluates program changes made since 2003 to ensure that unclassified defense articles transferred to foreign governments are authorized for shipment and monitored; and (2) determine what info. DoD has to administer and oversee the FMS program. Charts and tables.