BLUE LANTERN CHECK, APPLICATION NO. 05-999949

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000085 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR PM/DTCC (ADAM ARNETT) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC EAIR KOMC CA NL SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN CHECK, APPLICATION NO. 05-999949 REF: A. A) 06 STATE 160771 ¶B. B) 06 OTTAWA 3434 ¶C. C) 06 THE HAGUE 2453 ¶1. (U) In accordance with ref A, Consul paid a site visit to the headquarters of Provincial Aerospace Ltd. in St John's, Newfoundland on October 3. Provincial Aerospace is the parent company of Provincial Aviation Maintenance Services Inc., the foreign consignee named in subject application to purchase inertial navigation systems from Honeywell International. Consul met with General Manager Brendan Power, who provided a tour of the company's facility at the St. John's International Airport and answered questions regarding this transaction and Provincial Aerospace's business operations. ¶2. (U) The site visit confirmed much of the information regarding Provincial Aerospace that was detailed in refs B and ¶C. The two inertial navigation systems had arrived on time and were being installed in two Provincial-owned, Canadian-built Bombardier DASH-8 aircraft at the hanger in St. John's. The installation and maintenance on the aircraft was ongoing at the time of Consul's visit, and she was able to tour the hangar and see the subject aircraft as well as two other aircraft that were being fitted for a separate contract. ¶3. (SBU) According to Mr. Power, Provincial has signed a 10-year contract with the Government of The Netherlands to fly and maintain the two aircraft for use in maritime, anti-narcotic, and search-and-rescue patrols in the Netherlands Antilles, operating out of Curacao. He stated that they have similar contracts with the governments of Canada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia and Peru. He also reported that they are in the process of ending a contract with the Government of Venezuela that had been entered into several years ago through the U.S. Department of State. Representatives from the United Arab Emirates were also in St. John's on October 3 to discuss a potential maritime aviation contract, and Mr. Power reported that he has visited UAE several times this year. ¶4. (U) Comment: Aside from the Blue Lantern requirements, it is worth noting that Provincial Aerospace appears to be an impressive economic success story in Newfoundland. Power reported that the company has grown from 36 employees to 600 employees in less than 19 years, and that almost all of their employees are from Newfoundland. The company is privately-owned by two Newfoundlanders and is one of the largest companies in the province. More information on the company can be found at their website www.provincialaerospace.com . End Comment. FOSTER