Defense

Controlled Technology. Global Reach.

Export licensing, DDTC brokering, FMS and DCS support, compliance programs, and strategic advisory for governments, militaries, primes, and qualified international organizations — the authorization work that moves controlled technology lawfully, and the advisory work that decides what to move and with whom.

Export & Defense Trade

Authorization, Brokering, and Compliance.

The regulatory execution behind every international defense transaction — filed, registered, and implemented, not just recommended.

Export Licensing

ITAR, EAR, and related authorizations for controlled technologies.

DDTC Brokering

Broker registrations and facilitation of qualified international transactions.

FMS & DCS

Foreign Military Sales support and Direct Commercial Sales facilitation.

Compliance Programs

Design, implement, and sustain export compliance programs.

Export Licensing

Full-cycle ITAR and EAR license management — jurisdiction determination, application drafting, end-user documentation, and post-authorization compliance. Applications are returned for incomplete paperwork and misclassified items far more often than for policy; we write for the examiner.

USML and CCL jurisdiction and classification
DSP-5, DSP-73, and DSP-85 applications
Technical Assistance and Manufacturing License Agreements
License exemptions and exceptions analysis
Amendments, renewals, and provisos management

DDTC Brokering

Facilitating the transfer of controlled technology between foreign parties without the right registration and approvals exposes principals to criminal liability. SSG structures broker registrations under 22 CFR Part 129 and supports lawful brokering activity between qualified international parties.

Broker registration and annual renewal
Prior-approval requests for covered brokering
Brokering activity recordkeeping and annual reports
Counterparty and end-user screening
Government-to-government and commercial transaction support

FMS & DCS

Allied governments buy through two doors, and the choice between them shapes cost, timeline, and control. SSG supports Foreign Military Sales case development and Direct Commercial Sales positioning for partner-nation procurement programs.

Letter of Request and LOA support
FMS versus DCS pathway analysis
Partner-nation program positioning
Offset and industrial participation structuring
Third-party transfer and retransfer requests

Compliance Programs

Policies that read well on paper fail when a real transaction is on the table. SSG builds Export Control Programs that hold under operational pressure — classification systems, screening, training, and the documentation an auditor or a voluntary disclosure will require.

Export Control Program design and ECP documentation
Technology control plans and deemed-export procedures
Restricted-party and sanctions screening workflows
ITAR/EAR training for engineering, sales, and shipping
Internal audits and voluntary self-disclosure support

A note on registration. SSG has held DDTC registrations and works with DDTC and BIS directly. Where an activity requires a current registration or prior approval, we structure the engagement so the registered party is the right one — and say so up front.

Defense Advisory

From Strategy and Market Entry to Partnership, Transaction, and Capability.

SSG advises governments, prime contractors, investors, and emerging technology companies across the full arc of a defense opportunity — with export compliance embedded in how each engagement is structured, not added at the end.

Strategic Advisory

Strategy, market entry, and capability planning for governments, primes, and emerging companies.

Transactions & Partnerships

Partner and target identification, structuring, and diligence for cross-border, export-controlled deals.

Procurement & Market Access

Positioning for specific programs and the lawful route from first contact to a signed agreement.

Industrial & Sovereign Capability

Local assembly, sustainment, and the industrial initiatives that turn a purchase into a durable capability.

Strategic Advisory

We help governments, military organizations, prime contractors, and emerging defense companies make sound decisions in a crowded and regulated market. Capability growth is rarely a single transaction — it depends on operational requirements, industrial realities, sustainment demands, budget limits, and the political currents shaping the opportunity.

Defense modernization and capability-gap planning
U.S. market entry for allied and partner-nation companies
Acquisition and strategic-sourcing strategy
Logistics, sustainment, and lifecycle planning
Counterparty assessment and decision support

Transactions & Partnerships

Consolidation across the defense and dual-use sector is accelerating. SSG supports clients from identifying a partner or acquisition target through structuring, diligence, and closing — with the export-control pathway designed in from the first conversation rather than retrofitted at signing.

Strategic partner and acquisition-target screening
Transaction structuring for export-controlled assets
Technical, regulatory, and geopolitical due diligence
Teaming agreements, joint ventures, and licensing arrangements
Post-transaction integration aligned to authorization conditions

Procurement & Market Access

Where an advisory engagement matures into an acquisition, SSG supports the identification and lawful sourcing of defense and dual-use solutions across an international supplier base — aligning supply options with mission requirements, timelines, budget, and the authorization each pathway requires.

Foreign Military Sales case development and LOA support
Direct Commercial Sales positioning and negotiation support
Supplier identification and qualification
End-use and end-user documentation
Program positioning for allied government procurements

Industrial & Sovereign Capability

Acquisition is rarely the end state. Where the objective is sovereign capability, SSG advises on the longer arc — local assembly, sustainment planning, technical partnerships, and industrial participation — structured within the manufacturing license and technical assistance agreements that make it lawful.

Manufacturing License Agreement and TAA structuring
Industrial participation and offset program design
In-country sustainment and depot planning
Technology-transfer scoping and controls
Co-production and co-development frameworks

Compliance is structural, not back-office. Every advisory engagement is scoped against the ITAR and EAR pathway it will ultimately require — end-use and end-user diligence, restricted-party screening, documentation flows, and anti-corruption controls consistent with the FCPA — so the work is lawful and auditable from first contact through closing.

Let’s Discuss Your Objectives.

All engagements begin with a confidential intake and end-user review.

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