JORDAN BLUE LANTERN: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON

UNCLAS AMMAN 000284 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/DTCC BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC JO SUBJECT: JORDAN BLUE LANTERN: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON AGREEMENT TA 0019-07B (RAINBOW AIRCRAFT PARTS) REF: A. WILSON-STITZIEL EMAIL NOV08 ¶B. 08 STATE 123376 ¶1. (SBU) EconOffs first met with Mr. Mousa Ababneh, in November 2008 (Ref A). He identified himself as a former Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) Brigadier General (aircraft maintenance background, including an advanced engineering degree from Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in 1998),and owner of Rainbow Aircraft Parts. ¶2. (SBU) Ababneh reported he was just starting up his business (which he explained was why there was no company web-page, no listing in local business directories, etc.), adding he had been a one-man operation, working via his cell-phone out of his personal residence, until opening a facility (hanger) and identifying two technicians ready to begin work. During a second meeting in January 2009, EconOffs visited his new facility at the local regional airfield, Marka, where he operates in a space affiliated with a local aircraft support company ("FBO"),Royal Wings, and met his two AmCit technicians. Ababneh reports he is now operational and materials are being delivered to begin the work. ¶3. (SBU) Ababneh stated that his firm plans to do the chaff/flare modifications on Mi-17 helicopters, and also mentioned that he is the "commercial consultant" (agent) in Jordan for Rolls Royce Aircraft. ¶4. (SBU) PolMilOff contacted a Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) official who confirmed Ababneh was both an engineer and a retired Brigadier General, but was not aware of his current business activities. ¶5. (SBU) EconOffs met several officials from Royal Wings (a known, established company in Jordan),who described their operations and explained that they lease hanger space to several firms, including Ababneh's, for aviation maintenance requirements. Additionally Econ Specialist spoke with one of the chiefs of maintenance and engineering at Royal Wings, Mr. Zuhair Zahdih, who confirmed that he personally knows Ababneh and is familiar with this company; Zahdih, reported Royal Wings has a "professional relationship" with Rainbow, related to supplying spare parts for the Iraqi Mi-17s. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Beecroft