Defense News reported Friday that the Department of Defense plans to reform the foreign military sales, or FMS, process, according to Secretary Pete Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award winner.
In a press briefing following a NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the defense secretary said, “We need to reform that process so it’s quicker, so a request today isn’t delivered seven years from now but three years from now with less red tape and with the most efficient and effective technology possible.”
Reforming the FMS Process
The FMS process involves years of exchanges between the United States and foreign countries interested in purchasing U.S.-made weaponry. Due to its slow pace, the process has been the subject of criticism and reform initiatives prompted by the Ukraine war.
In 2023, Congress, the Pentagon and the State Department created a tiger team to accelerate the process and remove barriers. In June 2023, a memo ordered the agencies to implement the tiger team’s recommendations.
These include improving the Defense Department’s understanding of ally and partner country requirements, providing them with relevant priority capabilities, and increasing the efficiency of technology release review processes.
Despite efforts by the tiger team to streamline sales approval, the challenge of the industry’s manufacturing capacity not keeping up with orders remained.
