U.S. MISSION ASSESSMENT FOR AN/AVS-9 GENERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 000093 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2019 TAGS: MASS MCAP MOPS ETTC PREL MY SUBJECT: U.S. MISSION ASSESSMENT FOR AN/AVS-9 GENERATION III NIGHT VISION GOGGLES CLASSIFIED BY: ODC CHIEF LTC FOWLER, REASON 1.4 (A, B, AND D). ¶1. (C) EMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR, FOLLOWING AN INTER-AGENCY REVIEW, SUPPORTS THE USG APPROVAL AND RELEASE OF GEN III NIGHT VISION GOGGLES (NVGS)/IMAGE INTENSIFIER AN/AVS-9 (12 EACH) TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA (GOM) FOR USE WITH THE MALAYSIAN ARMY (MA) AVIATION 881 SQUADRON, AGUSTA A 109, LIGHT OBSERVATION HELICOPTER (LOH). THIS FOLLOWS A MALAYSIAN MILITARY REQUEST FOR THE NVGS AND WOULD PROCEED AS A STANDARD FMS CASH SALE. ¶2. (U) THE MALAYSIAN ARMY PRESENTED A LETTER OF REQUEST FOR A LETTER OF OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE OF AN/AVS-9 NVGS WITH IMAGE INTENSIFIER, ITT (F4959 SERIES),QUANTITY 12, WITH HELMET MOUNT (MSA GALLET LH 250),ACCESSORIES, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ON 3 NOVEMBER 2008. THE GOM INTENDS TO INCORPORATE A LIMITED NIGHTTIME-LOW VISIBILITY CAPACITY INTO THEIR HELICOPTER FLEET AND DESIRES THE AN/AVS-9 FOR THIS PURPOSE. ¶3. (U) IN ACCORDANCE WITH DOD INSTRUCTION 5105.38-M, THE EMBASSY CONDUCTED A REVIEW OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSFERRING THIS EQUIPMENT: ¶A. (U) GEN III NVGS SUCH AS THE AN/AVS-9 WILL ENHANCE MALAYSIA?S SEARCH AND RESCUE CAPABILITIES. ADDITIONALLY, NVGS WILL ENHANCE THE MALAYSIA?S SURVEILLANCE AND COUNTER-TERRORISM MISSIONS. ¶B. (C) OVERALL CHANGES TO FORCE STRUCTURE RESULTING FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF AN/AVS-9 NVGS WILL BE MINIMAL. THE MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES (MAF) ALREADY MAINTAIN 64 PAIRS OF AN/AVS ? 9 GEN III NVGS PURCHASED UNDER AND USED FOR THEIR F/A-18D AND HELICOPTER PROGRAMS. LOGISTICS AND MAINTENANCE SUPPORT FOR THE NVGS WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH NORMAL FMS CHANNELS. THE INCREASED CAPABILITY TO ENGAGE IN NVG OPERATIONS WILL HELP THE MA CONTRIBUTE TO COALITION OPERATIONS AND WILL IMPROVE MALAYSIA?S INTEROPERABILITY WITH US FORCES. ¶C. (U) MALAYSIA MAINTAINS FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH ITS IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORING NATIONS. WHILE THESE NATIONS EITHER CURRENTLY POSSESS OR MIGHT DESIRE SIMILAR CAPABILITIES, NO EXTREME ADVERSE REACTIONS OR OPPOSITION ARE ANTICIPATED. THIS RELEASE IS NOT ANTICIPATED TO POSE AN IMMEDIATE OR FUTURE THREAT TO THE U.S. AND OTHER FRIENDLY NATIONS. ¶D. (U) MALAYSIA HAS AN ACTIVE FMS PURCHASE PROGRAM AND HAS DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY TO OPERATE, MAINTAIN AND SUPPORT US DEFENSE EQUIPMENT. THE PURCHASE OF AN/AVS ? 9 NVGS WOULD BE UNDER THE FMS PROGRAM USING A TOTAL PACKAGE APPROACH, ENSURING TRAINING AND FOLLOW-ON SUPPORT FOR INTEGRATION INTO CURRENT FORCE STRUCTURE. THE MA DOES NOT HAVE MANY FMS CASES AND WE WOULD LIKE TO DEVELOP A FMS RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM THUS INCREASING ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES. ¶E. (U) STANDARD FMS CASH SALE. UPON GOM ACCEPTANCE OF LOA, A NEW CASE WOULD BE FUNDED VIA MALAYSIA?S TREASURY. MINIMAL ECONOMIC IMPACT ANTICIPATED. ¶F. (U) NO HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS. ¶G. (U) THE MAF CURRENTLY HANDLES CLASSIFIED MATERIAL CLEARED FOR THEIR RELEASE WITH NO INCIDENTS NOTED TO DATE. MAF HAS COOPERATED FULLY WITH EUM PROGRAM. ¶H. (C) IN ACCORDANCE WITH DOD DIRECTIVE 5132.3 AND DOD INSTRUCTION 5105.38-M, EMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR SUPPORTS THE USG APPROVAL OF AN/AVS-9 GEN III NVGS RELEASE TO THE MALAYSIAN ARMY, GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA. ¶5. (U) POC IS LCDR JOHN LEE OR LTC PETER C. FOWLER, ODC PHONE IS 011- 603- 2168- 4827, OR FAX 011- 603- 2141- ¶1080. E-MAIL ADDRESS IS ODCMY(AT)TM.NET.MY. SIPRNET EMAIL IS FOWLERPC(AT)STATE.SGOV.GOV, OR LEEJE(AT)STATE.SGOV.GOV. KEITH