Pentagon plans incremental changes to foreign arms sales process later this year

The order directed officials to give greater weight to domestic production needs and to favor buyers that increase their own defense spending. Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, told reporters the department delivered its portion of the required work. He said the remaining steps involve coordinating many simultaneous changes across the enterprise.

Timing and rollout Cadenazzi said major shifts are unlikely before later this year. Even after initial changes appear, the overhaul will proceed incrementally rather than as a single-year project. The order set a 120-day deadline that ended earlier this month. Among the required steps were a prioritized sales catalog and the creation of a Promoting American Military Sales Task Force.

Additional measures Other planned steps include a single tracking system for arms sales and early identification of production bottlenecks. Officials have also noted concerns from some buyers about delivery delays and U.S. production backlogs.