FRANCE: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: CHECK ON EURL AOG AERO-

UNCLAS PARIS 000072 SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC FR SUBJECT: FRANCE: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: CHECK ON EURL AOG AERO- SPARES COMPANY REGISTERED AS BROKER UNDER ITAR 129 REF: STATE 227984 ¶1. As requested in reftel, post conducted a site visit to French company EURL AOG Aero-Spares, to check on the bona fides of this company as a registered broker and to verify the physical location of the operation and the nature of the business that the company conducts. Following paragraphs address questions posed in reftel. ¶2. Can the company's address of operations be confirmed? Yes. The company is a sole proprietorship operated by Olivier Calvez from his home. The address is 9 rue des Mesanges, 85600 Montaigu, France, as indicated in reftel. AOG Aero-Spares also leases a small amount of warehouse space at the Zone d'Activites Mirville (Mirville Industrial Park),85600 Bouffere. It hopes to lease larger warehouse space in the near future, but will continue to operate the business from Mr. Calvez' home. ¶3. What type of business does the company conduct? The company acts as a broker for the purchase and sale of parts for both the military and commercial versions of the C-130 aircraft (aka L- 100 for the commercial version) and its T56 engine (aka 501D). The company has four principal customers -- Wood Group Turbopower (Florida),Rolls-Royce (Oakland, CA),SIGMA (UK),and Aviquipo (Portugal). The company deals with both OEM and OH parts. It does not do drop shipment transactions -- all parts are sent to AOG Aero-Spares which looks them over before sending them on to the end user. Aero-Spares also does not certify parts. Instead it forwards the manufacturer's original certification to the end user with the part. ¶4. Does the company have a contractual relationship with any U.S. companies? Yes. AOG Aero-Spares acts as European sales representative for Wood Group Turbopower, Inc., 14820 NW 60th Avenue, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014. ¶5. Does the company hold proper licensing to conduct business relating to military goods? The company deals almost exclusively in dual-use items, as the same parts can be used on both the military and commercial versions of the C-130 aircraft and its engine. The company is registered with the French Ministry of Defense. On the rare occasions when the company has brokered transactions involving exclusively military parts, it has obtained a license from the French government for each non- French end user. This is true even if the end user is another EU country. In the case of military parts obtained in the U.S., the manufacturer is required to obtain the necessary export license from the State Department. Leach