MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE SUCCESS STORIES
Weapon Data Link Case Study
The Issue
Understanding and navigating the U.S. ITAR licensing requirements and Foreign Military Sales processes and having an experienced, U.S.-based customer advocate working with the U.S. DoD is critical to avoid delays in receiving necessary technical data and hardware for your program and to streamlining the integration and testing process.
The Norwegian government has been seeking a Weapon Data Link (WDL) since 2011 for their newly developed Joint Strike Missile (JSM). WDLs have never been exported as stand-alone products. In addition, the U.S. WDL manufacturer was in the process of implementing NSA-mandated cryptographic modernization that was not yet NSA certified. This combination made it extremely difficult for Norway to obtain WDL technical data and hardware for their missile.
Solution
NORMOD was referred to Lone Star to assist. We were able to navigate the various U.S. government agencies necessary to get U.S. clearance to export the technical data and hardware. Our team worked with multiple organizations within the U.S. government and the Department of Defense (DoD) to obtain the required export licenses and technical assistance agreements. We also worked with the WDL manufacturer to monitor and ensure timely completion of their cryptographic modernization development and certification.
Additionally, to ensure on-time delivery of the hardware, Lone Star worked with the U.S. Government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and the WDL manufacturer to ensure contracts were in place between the U.S FMS agency and the manufacturer to meet Norway’s hardware required delivery timelines.
Results
Lone Star’s coordination with Norway, the WDL manufacturer, and various U.S. Government agencies resulted in the successful delivery of technical data and NSA-certified WDL hardware in time to meet Norway’s JSM integration and qualification timeline.