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 Septem ber 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 vi ew 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 Adm inistrator 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 aircraftwill 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

Enclosure5

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