VZCZCXRO6243
PP RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHIL #1063/01 1371149
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 171149Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2759
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0274
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 4888
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 1623
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 7225
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 6166
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/OSAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER MARR PK
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON RESPONSE TO GOP MILITARY REQUESTS 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD NOTAL 
 
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons ...1.  (S)  Summary and action request.  Working with USCENTCOM  and DOD, Post has been responding to a changing list of  requests from the Pakistani military in support of current  and planned operations in the Northwest Frontier Province  (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).  The Pakistanis continue to be focused on equipment and  materiel instead of maintenance or intelligence support that  would require a greater USG presence on the ground.  Post  would appreciate responses to questions/requests in paras 2,  4, and 9.   End Summary. 
  HELICOPTERS: MI-17 
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¶2.  (C) The Pakistan Army requested either the lease or  purchase of 10-12 MI-17 helicopters, as there is no funding  available in the GOP budget for these.  Currently the Joint  Staff and OSD are working on the waiver needed prior to  purchasing or leasing additional aircraft.  The Pakistan Army  Aviation Corps (PAAC) does have between 17 and 22 aircraft  available for operations although we are uncertain how many  are operational.  (The PAAC claims a 70-75% Operational  readiness rate.)  Two of those aircraft along with their crew  are on loan from the Pakistan Air Force for the duration of  the operations.  By mid-August, the Pakistani millitary will  have nine overhauled MI-17s back, which will increase their  available helicopters to 31.  At least seven aircraft  scheduled for overhaul are not included in the current number  of operational airframes.  Post requests an update on the  status of the waiver. 
  HELICOPTERS: COBRAS 
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¶3.  (C) The PAAC claims that currently 16 of 37 Cobra  helicopters it owns are operational.  It claims almost all  are airworthy but the 21 non-operational Cobras do not have  functioning sights. While the PAAC turned down the offer of a  DOD-provided maintenance team and a maintenance test pilot,  it has tentatively agreed to the deployment of one Logistics  Assistance representative to work at the Central Aviation  Spares depot in Rawalpindi.  We still must conclude an MOU  with PAAC and General Headquarters (GHQ) to ensure they can  actually get on base once they arrive. 
 
¶4.  (C) Post requests that the overhaul of 8 remaining Cobras  in the U.S. be expedited.  The $50 million of Foreign  Military Funds (FMF) from FY 2008 has been released by the  Congress. 
  MUNNITIONS 
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¶5.  (C) The Pakistani Army signed the Letter of Offer and  Acceptance for 112,000 rounds of 20mm Cobra ammo to be paid  for with FMF.  Our estimated delivery date is May 23, and  Centcom is pushing hard to maintain this schedule.  The  Pakistanis have submitted another Letter of Request for Price  and Availability of another 300K rounds. 
  SPECIAL SERVICES GROUP (SSG) 
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¶6.  (C) Though the request is still informal, we are  attempting to locate the items listed below that have been  identified by the Special Services Group (SSG), the Pakistan  Army,s special forces group, as needed.  We continue to push  GHQ to make a decision so we can move quickly once they  decide. The items are: 
 
 - 700,000 rounds (mixed types) of sniper ammo 
 - 2000 helmets 
 - 1500 units of body armor 
 - An undetermined quantity of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs). 
  BRIDGES 
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¶7.  (C) The Pakistan Army has requested 14 Mabey-Jonson 
  ISLAMABAD 00001063  002 OF 002 
 
  bridges.  Post request that funding options for purchasing  Mabey-Johnson bridges be identified.  These bridges could  prove invaluable in the event militants destroy bridges as  Army advances into Swat. Currently the only funding options  available are FMF and the transfer for sale with Acquisition  and Cross Servicing Agreement.  We consider the  prepositioning of these bridges critical to the success of  military operations. 
 
¶8.  (C) We request that the Department work with the DOD and  other relevant agencies to ensure that the items listed above  can be provided in an expedited manner.  These items are  needed quickly in order to support ongoing and future  security operations against militants along the Afghanistan  border. 
  ISR SUPPORT 
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¶9.  (S)  We have created Intelligence Fusion cells with  embedded U.S. Special Forces with both SSG and Frontier Corps  (Bala Hisar, Peshawar) with the Rover equipment ready to  deploy, but we have not been given Pakistani military  permission to accompany the Pakistani forces on deployments  as yet.  Through these embeds, we are assisting the  Pakistanis collectand coordinate existing intelligence assets. 
 
¶10.  (S)  The Pakistani military has no current requests for  DOD ISR platforms tasked to support their ongoing combat  operations. 
 
  PATTERSON  "