How the United States Exports War

Back in mid-July 2018, it was with great pride that the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the Department of Defense made the following announcement:

At that point in time, in the first ten months of fiscal 2018 - 2019 (starting October 1, 2017 and ending September 30, 2018), American defense companies (with the blessing of the State Department and the Department of Defense) had, at that point, sold more weapons to foreign governments than in the entire preceding fiscal year when sales hit $41.93 billion.

Now that the final data is in for weapons sales for all of fiscal 2018, let's look at the sales by month, keeping in mind that Congress has to approve each of these purchases:

1.) October 2017 -

a) $575 million for UH-1Y utility helicopters to the Czech Republic

b) $2.404 billion upgrade of F-16 Aircraft to Block V configuration to Greece

c) $29 million for M1A1 Abrams Tanks to Kuwait

d) $342.6 million for continuation of C-17 logistics support services and equipment to Kuwait

e) $53 million for AIM-120 C-7 Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to the Netherlands

f) $15 billion for THAAD to Saudi Arabia

g) $113 million for AIM-120 C-7 Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to Japan

h) $815 million for GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II to Australia

2.) November 2017 -

a) $415 million for laser guided moms and FMU fuzes to Poland

b) $250 million for a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System tor Poland

c) $250 million for AIM Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to Poland

d) $75 million for Javelin Missiles and Command Launch Units for Georgia

e) $10.5 billion for Integrated Air and Missile Battle Command System-enabled Patriot Configuration-3+ to Poland

f) $170 million for AIM-120 C7 Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to Norway

g)  $1.1 billion for F-15QA multi-role fighter aircraft program to Qatar

h) $140 million for AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to Air Missiles to Canada

3.) December 2017 -

a) $200 million for follow-on support for F-16 fleet to Poland

4.) January 2018 -

a) $6.53 billion for 34 Conventional Takeoff and Landing F-35s to Belgium

b) $500 million for continuation of missile support services to Saudi Arabia

c) $133.3 million for Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles to Japan

d) $62 million for upgraded software for F-35 subsystems to Oman

e) $98.4 million Harpoon Block II missiles, RAM Missiles and MK 54 Torpedos to Mexico

5.) February 2018 -

a) $259 million for King Air 350ER Intelligences, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft to Kuwait

b) $70 million for Mk41 Vertical Launching Systems to Finland

c) $100 million for fast patrol boats to Kuwait

d) $1.191 billion for Remanufactured Apache Attack Helicopters to the Netherlands

e) $3.2 billion for Patriot Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire United to Sweden

f) $622 million for Harpoon Surface-Launchd Missiles to Finland

g) $112.7 million for 68 Seasparrow Missiles to Finland

6.) March 2018 -

a) $670 million for TOW 2B Missiles to Saudi Arabia

b) $300 million for Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps Foreign Military Sales Order

c) $106.8 million for continuation of Maintenance Support Services contract to Saudi Arabia

d) $270.4 million for 300 Sidewinder Missiles plus Training Missiles and guidance units to the United Arab Emirates

e) $197 million for upgrade of Qatari Emir Airforce Operation Center

f) $45 million for MK 15 Phalanx Close-in Weapon System Conversion kits to Japan

g) $47 million for Javelin Missiles and Javelin Launch Units to Ukraine

7) April 2018 -

a) $911.4 million AH-1Z Attack Helicopters to Bahrain

b) $70 million for 3500 M1156 Precision Guided Kits to the Netherlands

c) $110 million for F-16 Formal Training Units to the Netherlands

d) $1.2 billion for MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopters to Mexico

e) $300 million for Advanced Precision Kill Weapons Systems to Qatar

f) $1.31 billion for 155mm Paladin Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems to Saudi Arabia

g) $2.5 billion for MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Germany

h) $148 million for M795 with Insensitive Munitions Explosive 101 Explosive Fill 155 mm HE Projectiles to Australia

i) $1.3 billion for CH-47F Aircraft to Spain

j) $500 million for MQ-9 Reaper Continuing Contractor Logistics Support to the United Kingdom

k) $2.91 billion for F-16 Block 70/72 V Configuration Aircraft to Slovakia

8) May 2018 -

a) $45 million for General Purpose and Penetrator Warhead bomb bodies to Bahrain

b) $1.4 billion for 3 C-130J and 3 KC-130J Aircraft to German

9) June 2018 -

a) $185 million for AEGIS Combat System Equipment to Australia

b) $860.4 billion for five AEGIS Weapons Systems to Spain

c) $930 million for six AH-64e Apache Helicopters to India

10) July 2018 -

a) $169 million for MK 54 Lightweight Torpedos to the Netherlands

b) $152 million for 46 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard Missiles and related equipment to Denmark

c) $80 million for 28 TOW Improved Target Acquisition Systems to Bahrain

d) $30.4 million for 300 AGM-114R Hellfire Missiles to Kuwait

e) $70 million for Follow-on Technical Support to Bahrain

f) $90 million for 28 AIM-120 C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles tor Denmark

g) $650 million for up to 200 AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to the United Kingdom

11) August 2018 -

a) $41 million for 8 Evolved Seasparrow Missiles to Mexico

b) $200 million for four UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters to Latvia

c) $40.4 million for various Mk-Series Munitions to Kuwait

12) September 2018 -

a) $300 million for M31 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and Army Tactical Mission System missiles to Bahrain

b) $330 million for blanket order requisitions to Taipei
c) $75 million for 50 MK 15 Phalanx Close-in Weapon System upgrades to the United Kingdom
d) $90 million for 3 SEAL Delivery Shallow Water Combat Submersibles to the United Kingdom
e) $99 million for 56,000 120 millimetre Tank Rounds to Egypt

f) $2.1 billion for 6 P-8A Patrol Aircraft to the Republic of Korea

g) $501 million for 64 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement Missiles to the Republic of Korea

h) $3.135 billion for 9 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft to Japan

i) $105 million for 4 Patriot Fire Units to the Netherlands

If you wish to see more details on each of these sales, please click on the month and year labels for each section and you will be taken directly to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency website.

Here is a graph showing the monthly totals:

For all of fiscal 2018, the United States military-industrial-Congressional complex has sold a total of $59.384 billion worth of materiel and services, manufactured for the most part in the United States, to foreign governments, including nations in the Middle East that are responsible for thousands of civilian deaths.  I would suggest that Congressional approval for these sales is highly unlikely to be refused given that Washington is in the back pocket of the military-industrial complex given this:

...and this:

While this year's total sales of just over $59 billion is less than the $69.1 billion sold in 2012 (thanks to the Saudi purchase of F-35s), we can be certain of two things:

1.) governments around the world are only too willing to spend billions of dollars on inventions that have the sole purpose of killing and maiming other human beings.

2.) Washington is more than pleased to sell war to the rest of the world, even to governments with sketchy human rights records.