AFS-12-014-E 

December 6, 2011 

 Exemption No. 7960E 

 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2001-10191 

Lieutenant Colonel William D. Hart, USAF 

Chief, Flight Directives Division 

Department of the Air Force (HQ AFFSA/A30) 

6500 South MacArthur (AJW31AF) 

Oklahoma City, OK 73169 

Dear Colonel Hart: 

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition to extend Exemption No. 7960, 

as amended. It explains the basis for our decision, describes its effect, and lists the conditions 

and limitations. 

The Basis for Our Decision 

By letter dated September 23, 2011, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA) on behalf of the United States Air Force (USAF) for an extension of and amendment 

to Exemption No. 7960, as amended. That exemption from § 91.209(a)(1) and (b) of Title 14, 

Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) allows USAF and the aircrew from other participating 

services, when conducting approved joint air operations, to conduct night vision goggle 

(NVG) lights-out training in certain military operations areas (MOA). The amendments you 

request would amend the requested list of modified MOAs to include Delta and Dolphin. 

In your petition, you indicate that there has been no change in the conditions and reasons 

relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original exemption. 

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested extension of and amendment to the exemption 

would not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to the 

USAF. 
 2

The FAA also finds that the USAF’s use of NVGs can provide an added level of safety 

because of the user’s ability to detect conventional lighting at extended distances. The FAA 

believes, however, that despite this increased visibility during hours of darkness, NVGs 

effectively limit the user’s peripheral vision and that using the NVG system during 

maneuvering may limit the user’s vision to only the target or object in view. 

The FAA believes that this reduced field of view during use of NVGs may lead to a lack of 

see-and-avoid capability. Therefore, the FAA finds that it is imperative that flightcrews using 

NVGs operate in monitored airspace. The FAA also finds that persons monitoring flight 

operations activity must make pilots of participating aircraft aware of the presence of 

nonparticipating traffic. The monitoring of flight operations may be performed by military 

personnel not participating in NVG training activities (i.e., air traffic controllers, military 

radar unit personnel, airborne radar unit personnel, or pilots of nonparticipating aircraft 

observing the NVG training). 

 

Our Decision 

Therefore, under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 44701, which the FAA 

Administrator has delegated to me, I hereby grant the United States Air Force and the aircrew 

from other participating services, when conducting approved joint air operations, an 

exemption from 14 CFR § 91.209(a)(1) and (b) to the extent necessary to conduct NVG 

lights-out training in certain MOAs subject to the conditions and limitations described below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

1. Operations conducted under this exemption are limited to NVG flight training in the 

specific MOAs listed in the enclosure to this exemption and in accordance with their 

times of use descriptions. 

2. Operations conducted in selected MOAs must be continuously monitored by military 

personnel to detect all nonparticipating aircraft. The monitoring must be 

accomplished by radar capable of detecting nonparticipating aircraft, including those 

that may not be transponder-equipped and/or have a small radar cross-section, in the 

active volume of operational airspace. 

3. Military personnel will immediately advise all participants when a nonparticipating 

aircraft has entered the active volume of operational airspace. Participating aircraft 

will maintain a continuous listening watch on a designated frequency during lightsout operations. If a nonparticipating aircraft is determined to pose a threat of conflict 

or collision risk, all participating aircraft will immediately restrict their operations, 

return to normal lighting conditions, and alter course as necessary to ensure the safety 

of the nonparticipating aircraft. 

4. All NVG flight training operations conducted under this exemption must be 

contained within a prescribed and publicized area that–– 
 3

a. Is identified by name in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that must be issued at 

least 48 hours before the lights-out operations are to begin. In other words, no 

person may operate an aircraft under this exemption unless a NOTAM 

concerning the lights-out operation was issued at least 48 hours before the 

lights-out operation. The NOTAM will advise that, during the course of flight 

planning, potential users of the MOA will be provided with information on the 

time and place of the proposed lights-out operations. The NOTAM must be 

made available to the civil aviation community and must be capable of being 

disseminated among civil users of the National Airspace System; 

b. Has been coordinated with the appropriate geographically responsible FAA air 

traffic control (ATC) facility; and 

c. Has the capability of being monitored for nonparticipating traffic. 

5. The USAF must–– 

a. Establish a procedure to provide informational briefings to local flying 

organizations, businesses, and other civilian users within 100 nautical miles of 

the MOA airspace. These briefings must be provided on an annual basis and 

must be coordinated with the manager of the geographically responsible Flight 

Standards District Office. The intent of the informational briefings shall be to 

increase their awareness of lights-out operations and facilitate effective 

communications between the USAF and the civilian users of the MOA 

airspace; 

b. Develop procedures to provide advisories to transient operators of the MOAs 

to notify them that selected MOAs are in use for lights-out operations. The use 

of the Automatic Terminal Information Service may be sufficient only if such 

transmissions can reach all air traffic operating within the selected MOA. 

Some notifications may be made through the use of NOTAM/special notices 

disseminated at least 48 hours in advance of scheduled exercises. Other 

procedures may be applicable based on the location of the MOA and proximity 

to airports, FAA facilities, and potential aircraft and operators; and 

c. Develop a letter of agreement (LOA) for lights-out operations in MOAs. The 

LOA must be coordinated with and agreed to by the FAA ATC facility that has 

geographic responsibility for the airspace to be used and must include–– 

i. Procedures for the immediate termination of lights-out operations in 

the event of conflicting, nonparticipating traffic; 

ii. Procedures for the immediate termination of lights-out operations if 

a lights-out aircraft spills out of the MOA; 

iii. Procedures for the loss of communications; 

iv. The type of aircraft and/or USAF unit(s) to be conducting lights-out 

training operations; 
 4

v. A way of notifying the geographically responsible FAA ATC 

facility upon activation and termination of lights-out operations to 

ensure that FAA ATC is aware of the activities in the MOA; 

vi. The geographical boundaries, altitude restrictions, and the name of 

the MOA in which operations under this exemption are authorized; 

and 

vii. Procedures for loss of radar contact. 

6. Each pilot who participates in operations conducted under this exemption must be 

thoroughly familiar with its provisions. 

7. Failure to comply with all of the provisions of this grant of exemption may result in a 

revocation or cancellation of this grant of exemption 

8. This exemption is not valid for operations outside of the United States. 

 

This exemption terminates on January 31, 2015, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ 

Raymond Towles 

Acting Director, Flight Standards 

 Service 

Enclosure 
 5

 2011 MOA List for FAA Exemption No. 7960 * = new or change for 2011 MOA 

(All subdivisions unless otherwise noted; e.g., Eagle Hi & Lo, 1 & 2, etc.) 

Adirondack Galena Pickett 

Airburst Gamecock Pike 

Avon Gandy Pine Hill 

Bagdad Gladden Pinon Canyon 

Basinger Goose Powder River 

Beaver Hart Red Hills 

Birch Hays Reserve 

Bison Hill Top Reveille 

Bronco Hog (Hi N&S, Lo N&S) Rose Hill 

Brownwood Howard Saddle 

Brush Creek Jackal Salem 

Buckeye Jarbidge Sells 

Buffalo Juniper Sevier 

Bulldog Kingsville Seymour Johnson 

Camden Ridge Lake Andes Smokey 

Carthage Lake Placid Snoopy 

Cato La Veta (Low) Steelhead 

Cheyenne Lindbergh Stony 

Condor Lowville Susitna 

Cranberry Lucin Taiban 

Crypt 

Delta* 

Marian 

Moody 

Talon 

Tiger 

Desert Morenci Tombstone 

DeSoto Mt. Dora Truman 

Devils Lake 

Dolphin* 

Naknek 

Olympic 

Tupper 

Turtle 

Duke O’Neill Twelve Mile 

Eielson Outlaw Volk 

Eureka Owyhee Warrior 

Falls Palatka Yankee 

Farmville Paradise Yukon 

Fox Pecos