The UKDPO provides US-based purchasing services and advice to MOD Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) with an actual or potential requirement to procure defence equipment or services from US Industry or Government sources. The United Kingdom Defence Procurement Office (UKDPO) is part of the Counsellor (Defence Equipment)’s organisation within the British Defence Staff located in the British Embassy in Washington DC. UKDPO is managed by the Attaché Defence Equipment (Commercial), Mr Stephen Steel.


UKDPO is organised into three sections:   

Commercial 

• Negotiating Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contracts with US Industry under US law for the procurement of defence equipment and services for the UK Armed Forces and BDS-US, and
  
• Arranging for price and quality assurance audits of US suppliers under reciprocal MOU arrangements;
  

Foreign Military Sales (FMS)

• Purchasing defence equipment and services from the US Government through the FMS system on behalf of the UK MoD;
• Managing the UK MoD’s FMS Trust Fund and related control accounts through which payments are made to the US Government and allocated to the appropriate UK MoD sponsoring organisation;  

Shipping and Licensing

• Providing assistance with the shipment of equipment from and to the US in support of UK MoD contracts, exercises and trials;
• Providing advice on the implications of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for UK MoD programmes, assisting with expediting license applications by US exporters in support of those programmes, and liaising with the US Departments of State and Defense to resolve export control issues affecting UK MoD programmes or operations; 
• Obtaining temporary import licenses from the US Department of State to bring UK MoD equipment into the US for exercises and trials;
• Obtaining State Department approval for the re-transfer of US-sourced equipment and information to third parties.
• For further information please see our US Licensing Process page including the Process Map and the Practical Guide to US Export Controls.
  

More generally, the UKDPO acts as the BDS-US focal point for Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) sourced from the US, can provide valuable advice to IPTs formulating procurement strategies for programmes with a known or potential US content, and reports periodically on developments in US acquisition, FMS and licensing policies of potential interest to UK MoD IPTs and policy makers.