The government of the United States has authorized the possible sale of an important batch of thousands of general-purpose and glide bombs to equip the Royal Canadian Air Force. The operation, notified by the Department of State to the U.S. Congress and framed within the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, is valued at US$ 2.68 billion.
According to information released by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on December 4, the Canadian government requested from the United States the acquisition of a significant number of bombs of various types and uses. These would be intended for use by the CF-18 Hornet fighters, currently in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as to ensure stockpiles and availability.
Reviewing the details included in the notification, a total of 9,942 bombs and 5,888 JDAM guidance kits can be identified, broken down as follows:
Bombs and munitions
• GBU-39 (practice, inert, with fuze): 750
• GBU-39 Guided Test Vehicles (GTV): 100
• MK-82 (inert bombs): 100
• BLU-117 2,000-lb GP: 220
• I-2000 penetrator warheads: 146
• BLU-111 500-lb GP: 3,414
• GBU-39 SDB-I: 3,108
• GBU-53 SDB-II: 2,004
• GBU-53 SDB-II GTV: 100
JDAM guidance kits
• KMU-572 JDAM: 5,352
• KMU-556 JDAM: 396
• KMU-557 JDAM: 140
In total, the operation reaches US$ 2.68 billion, with Boeing and RTX Corporation as the main suppliers.
The Department of State indicated: “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of a NATO Ally that is an important force for ensuring political stability and economic progress, and is a contributor to military, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations around the world.”
They added: “The proposed sale will improve Canada’s credible defense capability to deter aggression in the region, ensure interoperability with U.S. forces, and strengthen Canada’s ability to contribute to shared continental defense. Canada will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
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