AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: MAY 2008 PROGRAM UPDATE

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002097 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR INL/LP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL MOPS MASS PGOV CO SUBJECT: AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: MAY 2008 PROGRAM UPDATE REF: 2003 STATE 265910 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. This is the monthly Air Bridge Denial (ABD) activity report for May, 2008, as required by Reftel. The Government of Colombia (GOC) sorted 6,543 tracks during April. Four were Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS). There were no Phase I/II/III events during the month. END SUMMARY. -------------- Tracks -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In April 2008, 6,859 tracks were sorted over Colombia, and four were declared UAS aircraft. One of these was visually identified in international airspace over the Caribbean Sea and information was passed on to Central American countries. Colombian National Police met one upon landing and inspected the aircraft and found no illegal items. Host Nation responded to the other two but the tracker aircraft was unable to locate the aircraft. -------------- Flight Operations -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In May 2008, the Citations flew 196 hours in 83 sorties with an Operational Readiness (OR) rate of 62 percent. Of the 83 sorties, 49 were for GOC ABD intelligence gathering and patrolling; five for training; twelve were for operational support; 10 were for maritime patrolling; and seven were in reaction to GOC-provided information. The SR-26 aircraft 5741 flew 47 hours in 21 sorties with a 61% OR rate. Sixteen SR-26 sorties were in support of ABD, of which eight were maritime missions. Five sorties were for non-ABD purposes. SR-26 tail number 5742 is still out of commission after a ground mishap. BROWNFIELD