EconDefense
USC-52 / Security cooperation, assistance and education

Purchase weapons overseas to protect deployed U.S. forces

Buy weapons from foreign persons, governments, international organizations or other entities in a country where U.S. armed forces are engaged in ongoing military operations, for force protection.

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Authority / instrument · USC-52

Overseas force-protection purchases

Security cooperation, assistance and education

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Not a general weapons-buyback or procurement authority outside the statutory location and purpose.

Recorded executor

Authorized contracting and force-protection offices (illustrative; delegation not verified)

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedLawfully available defense funds; annual ceiling is not an appropriation. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolUSC-52 · Contracts & purchases

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense

Contracts & purchases

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Statutory-review addition. Current program implementation, intake, available funds, and individual signing authority have not been verified.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Ongoing U.S. military operations in the country and a force-protection purpose; semiannual congressional reporting when used.

Limits & exclusions

  • Aggregate annual spending ceiling $15 million.
  • Not a general weapons-buyback or procurement authority outside the statutory location and purpose.

Funding conditions

  • Lawfully available defense funds; annual ceiling is not an appropriation.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Deployed command sponsor (illustrative routing lead)

Resources

  • Cognizant component comptroller; account and available balance unverified
    Office profile

Approval

Execution

  • Authorized contracting and force-protection offices (illustrative; delegation not verified)

Partners & review

    Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

    Coordination pathway

    Mission sponsor → component counsel and comptroller → required statutory findings and approvals → authorized execution office. Routing is illustrative; verify delegation and available funds.

    Actor and execution-role sources

    October 5 statutory review

    Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified.

    Section coverage and review findings

    Legal basis

    • 10 U.S.C. § 127cOfficial 2024 Code operative text read; see record currentness for later-law checks.

    What this research establishes

    Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
    RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
    Public fundingRules recordedLawfully available defense funds; annual ceiling is not an appropriation. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
    Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
    EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

    Confidence: High on the cited statutory mechanism; no implementation or obligation-ready certification.

    Currentness: Reviewed 2026-10-05 against full official GovInfo 2024 Code text and a targeted P.L. 119-60 reference sweep. Official OLRC indexed text used where accessible; direct OLRC pages returned maintenance or access errors. No comprehensive later-law certification or current funding/delegation verification.

    Review scope: Record reviewed 2026-10-05. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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