ANGOLA BLUE LANTERN UPDATE ON LICENSES 05-928494

UNCLAS LUANDA 000204 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR PM/DTC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC AO SUBJECT: ANGOLA BLUE LANTERN UPDATE ON LICENSES 05-928494 AND 05-962056 REF: A. LUANDA 1338 ¶B. LUANDA 1673 1.(SBU) Embassy Tel Aviv received the following two letters regarding Israeli participation in sales of regulated equipment to Angolan entities, which were forwarded via e-mail to Embassy Luanda and PM on February 21, 2007. For the official record, Embassy Luanda is transmitting the text of the letters as found below. Both letters were generated by the Israeli Ministry of Defense dated January 8 and January 9, 2007 and refer to the Blue Lantern cases in reftels A and B. ¶2. (SBU) First Letter - Text: January 8, 2007 Dubi Galezky Head of Enforcement and Outreach Unit Department of Defense Export Control Israel Ministry of Defense Ha-Kiriya Tel-Aviv Dear Mr. Galezky, Further to the request of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) for information relating to the end of use of a U.S ITAR control item sold by Elbit Systems Ltd. (Elbit) for end use in Angola, please be advised as follows. -- In 2004, Elbit purchased from Uni-Cast Inc. (Uni-Cast),of Londonderry, New Hampshire, 58 computer housing castings for use in connection with artillery systems sold for end use by the Angolan Army. -- The castings were manufactured by Uni-Cast per an Elbit design, specification and mold. -- Elbit has provided the IMOD with a copy of the DSP-5 export license granted in June 2004 for export of the castings for end use in Angolan artillery units by the Angolan Army. -- A review of the current status of the 58 castings purchased indicates: -- 44 were delivered to Angolan Army through Elbit,s prime contractor, LR Avionics Technologies Ltd.; -- 5 were scraped in the MRP process; and -- 9 are currently in inventory marked for the designated end use (2 stored in the completed products warehouse and 7 stored in the top assembly warehouse). -- Elbit's recent review of the DSP-5 license in response to the IMOD enquiry indicates that LR Avionics was inadvertently omitted from the list of intermediate consignees. However, it should be noted that as part of Elbit,s general enhancement of its export control process, and prior to and unrelated to the IMOD,s enquiry on Angola, Elbit has implemented a number of steps that mitigate the possibility of such inadvertent omissions being made in the future with respect to intermediate consignees. -- We understand that the IMOD will advise the U.S. authorities regarding the above-mentioned information as appropriate. Sincerely, Michal Stavi Export control Coordinator End Text ¶3. (SBU) Second Letter - Begin Text January 9, 2007 Mr. Michael C. Keays First Secretary Political-Military Affairs United States Embassy Israel Enquiry Regarding End Use of U.S. Componens in Angola In response to the letter dated May 16, 2006 sent by the US Charge d' affairs in Angola to the Israeli Ambassador there regarding the Angolan position on US end use inspections, and request for information regarding certain transactions, we would like to inform you as follows: With regard to your request for assistance in explaining to the relevant authorities of Angola the procedures with regard to US origin items, IMOD officials (SIBAT) met with senior officials of Angolan Army and brought up the issue, stressing that such end-use confirmation is standard US procedure and that cooperation with USG on this matter is commended. The US Ambassador to Angola was informed of this in the course of a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador and IMOD officials held in Luanda in September 2006. Pursuant to your request for information regarding License 05-9284945 and License Application 05-962056, our investigation has provided the following findings: License 05-9284945 -------------- Elbit System Ltd. Ordered 58 computer housing castings from Uni-cast Inc., for which export license no. 9284945 was issued in June 2004. the housings were received by Elbit on 26 September 2004 (twenty seven (27) units) and 7 December 2004 (thirty one (31) units). Forty-four (44) units were supplied to the Angolan Army through LR Avionics Technologies Ltd. Five (5) units did not pass quality assurance tests. Nine (9) units are currently in Elbit's inventory (1) two (2) units are in the company's complete product warehouse and seven (7) units are in the top assembly warehouse. Attached is a copy of an End User certificate issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Angola. Following IMOD questions to Elbit on the issue, we were notified by the company that its review had indicated that LR Avionics was inadvertently omitted from the list of intermediate consignees. Elbit had also advised us that as part of the company's general enhancement of its export control process and prior to and unrelated to the recent case, it had implemented a number of steps that mitigate the possibility of such inadvertent omissions being made in future (see attached letter submitted to IMOD by Elbits Export Control Coordinator) License Application 05-962056 -------------- Elta ordered two 2129 radars from Telephonics which were to be supplied to Elbit for end use by the Army of Angola. Telephonics did not succeed in obtaining an export license for the radar in time for supply and therefore the above-mentioned order was cancelled. Eli Pincu Director End Text. EFIRD