U.S. Approves $96.4M JDAM Sale to Canada

The U.S. State Department has approved Canada’s $96.4 million (C$1.3 billion) request to purchase Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the potential sale on May 21, 2024.

This deal will equip the Royal Canadian Air Force with 690 KMU-572 JDAM kits, 75 KMU-556 kits, and 25 KMU-557 kits. JDAMs are precision-guided munitions that autonomously navigate to their targets after being released from an aircraft.

This latest purchase builds on a previous order by Canada, which was valued at $16.1 million, including $11.8 million in major defense equipment. The earlier order did not reach the $25 million threshold that requires congressional notification.

With this new sale, Canada’s total JDAM inventory will include 900 KMU-572s, 125 KMU-556s, and 50 KMU-557s. The package also includes illuminated target detectors, FMU-139 fuses, weapons support equipment, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, repair and return support, publications and technical documentation, and U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services.