SUBJECT: Proceedings – Air Force Northwest-Mountain Airspace/Range Council Management Session
GENERAL – The Air Force Northwest-Mountain Airspace/Range Council (NWM ARC) convened at 1:30 PM on 13 March 2012 at the FAA Denver Air Route Traffic Center in Longmont, CO.
COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS FOR MARCH 13, 2012
Co-Chair Welcome – Brig Gen Gregg (ORANG ATAG-AIR), Mr. Chupein (HQ AF/A3O-BA) welcomed everyone to the management session of the Airspace/Range Council and requested that everyone introduce themselves and for the military representatives to provide a brief discription of their unit’s mission and airpsace utilized.
Oregon –
Unit; 142 FW
Location: Portland IAP, OR
Aircraft: F-15 – Air Defense
Airspace: Primary W570 Alternate Juniper/Hart MOA scheduled by the 173 FW Klamath Falls
Unit: 173 FW
Location: Klamath Falls, OR
Aircraft: F-15 – Tactical pilot training
Airspace: Juniper/Hart MOAs, Goose MOA, Dolphin MOA and W93.
Question concerning a new airspace proposal.
There is one but it has not been developed to a point that it ready for the public
The Air Force has concerns following the public reaction to the Cannon LATN.
The Air Force is attempting to eliminate some of the potential problems prior to a formal proposal is released.
Washington –
Unit: Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Location: Whidbey Island, WA
Aircraft:
EA18G Growler – Electronic Warfare suppression
P-3 Orion Maritime Patrol
Airspace:
W237, Olympic MOAs, Okanogan and Roosevelt MOAs.
The Boardman Range that is very critical to Navy training.
Training at NAS Whidbey Island has increased and ideas are being considered to meet the forecast shortfall in training airspace.
Aircraft: A-10 Thunderbolt – Tactical Air-to-Ground and Close-Air-Support
Airspace: Saddle MOA and multiple MTRs also use the Mt. Home airspace.
366 FW
Location: Mt. Home AFB, ID
Aircraft: F-15E Eagle – Tactical Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground
Airspace: Paradise, Owyhee, and Jarbridge MOAs – Saylor Creek Range and Juniper Butte Range – Multiple MTRs.
Comments: Paradise is changing dimensions. An airspace bridge has been established that combines the Saddle MOA with the Mt. Home airspace. Should be charted by the end of May.
Wyoming –
Unit: 153 AW WY ANG
Location: F.E. Warren AFB, Cheyenne, WY
Aircraft: C-130 – Tactical Airlift at Cheyenne and Helicopters at Ft Guernsey.
Airspace: LATN area and the Guernsey Range (R7001)
Unit: 28 BW, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD has MTRs and the Powder River MOA in the northeast corner of the state.
Unit: 140 FW CO ANG, Buckley AFB, Aurora, CO has MTRs in the southern part of the state.
Montana –
Unit: 120 AW MT ANG
Location: Great Falls, MT
Aircraft: F-15s being replaced by C-130s – Tactical Airlift and potential fire fighting capability.
Airspace: Hays MOA is a national treasure as a low altitude MOA from 300 feet to 17,999 MSL with an ATCAA above that is 280 NM long and 90 NM wide with nearly no encroachment of any type.
Unit: 28 BW, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD has MTRs and the Powder River MOA in the northeast corner of the state.
Utah –
Unit: 388 FW Active Duty & 419 FW AFRC
Location: Hill AFB, Ogden, UT
Aircraft: F-16 – Tactical Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground
Airspace: Lucin, Grady and Sevier MOAs and the Utah Test & Training Range.
The new White Elk MOA will expand the airspace to the west to provide F-16 Training when the UTTR is unusable due to high priority testing.
Ogden Logistic Center provides overhaul and fight test for Predators, Reapers and F-16s.
151 ARW UT ANG
Location: Salt Lake City Airport
Aircraft: KC-135R Stratotanker – Global Air Refueling
Airspace: Multiple ARs
Colorado -
Unit: 140 FW CO ANG
Location: Buckley AFB, CO
Aircraft: F-16 – Tactical Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground
Airspace: La Veta, Pinion Canyon, Two Buttes and Cheyenne MOAs, the Airburst Range and multiple MTRs.
The unit has been working on expanding the Cheyenne MOA to get additional airspace to meet new training requirements.
Aircraft: C-130 – Tactical Airlift & Modular Airborne Fire Fighting
Airspace: LATN area with Drop Zones
National Overview - Brig Gen Harris (Airspace/Range Council National Co-Chair) Thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. Please ask the questions in the open forum.
There are five regional meetings from January through May where we invite National Airspace System stakeholders.
UAS: The Air Forces biggest airspace and training challenge is Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
Encroachment on our operating space is another major issue.
Regional Airspace Issues - Navy Weapons Systems Training Facility (NWSTF) Boardman – Lt (Navy) Troy Bertran (NAS Whidbey Island, Air Traffic Control Officer)
Whidbey Island Aircraft Inventory
EA-18G Growler (Electronic Attack)
EA-6B Prowler (Electronic Attack)
P-3C Orion
EP-3 Aries
C-9 Skytrain
H-60 Knighthawk
The Northwest Training Range Complex (NWSTF) Airspace offers unparalleled network of water-space, MTR’s and Airspace for integrated war-fighting scenarios.
Provide a realistic, safe training environment to accomplish live training and tactics development in all assigned Warfare Training Areas at the assigned training levels and is fully capable of evolving with new and enhanced training requirements.
Range Complex Roles & Missions are defined in terms of:
Range Functions (Navy’s Warfare Areas)
Anti-Air Warfare
Anti-Surface Warfare
Anti-Submarine Warfare
Strike Warfare
Electronic Warfare
Navy Special Warfare
Training Complexity (As defined in the RCD)
Basic
Intermediate
Advanced
The Boardman Restricted area was established in 1962, prior to the 1967 requirement to own the land for special use airspace.
The restricted area is from the surface to FL200, the MOA surrounds the restricted area and is 4000 feet to FL200.
The Boardman Range Complex accounts for 50 percent of the airspace for training mission critical skills that require aircrews to operate as low as 200 feet above ground level. This area is critical because of the flat terrain. Losing the ability to conduct LAT and FRS training will result in increased cost and time to train. The NW Range Management Team is focused on mitigation efforts to retain this training area.
MCAT Tool is not working – a new developer has submitted an application and the project shows up as an old proposal and the Navy does not get a notification.
There is not force in the OE/AAA process
Major problems is that the Boardman area does not receive much monetary benefit from the Navy operations.
Many projects are being constructed without a tie to the Electric Grid – The Navy will object to any power lines in the range area.
Development of wind turbines in Boardman/R-5701 is an unacceptable risk to national security.
Proposed timeline
July 12 – Airspace proposal submitted to FAA
Mar 13 – EIS Completed
NET 2015 – Transformation of several of Boardman areas.
Low Altitude Training (LAT)* for EA-18G/EA-6B based at NAS Whidbey Island
Boardman/R-5701 only available LAT training area in the Pacific Northwest.
Low Altitude Tactical Training (LATT) occurs between 200’AGL and 500’AGL. This is to provide a realistic setting that prepares aircrew for real-world threat environments.
Surface to Air Counter Tactics (SACT)
High Speed (~420 KIAS) / Low Altitude (200 ft) / Dynamic Maneuvering – Wind Turbine are on private land and have tower up to 400 feet.
Pilot heavily task loaded--primarily Terrain Clearance Tasks (TCT)
Air Combat Command (ACC) Airspace Update – Mr. Ed Odom (HQ ACC / A3AA)
ACC has 18 bases in the US that send units to overseas contingencies.
No large projects at this time
ACC has F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft and Predator, Reapor and Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft.
F35 beddown is the major issue at ACC
Looking at airspace requirements
Ramp space
Living space
Weather
The Training EIS included Luke AFB, Davis Monthan AFB and the Arizona ANG, Tucson.
F-35 concept of operations will require more medium to high altitude training then F-15s and F-16s.
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) - CMSgt Randy Griggs (HQ AFRC / A3V) – Currently does not have an airspace manager and has limited airspace in the NWM Region.
US Air Force Academy (USAFA) Mr. Daniel Rund (USAF Academy 306 OSS/DOA)
The Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs has airspace at the academy and at the basic pilot training contractor operation at Pueblo, CO that training 2,000 new pilots annually.
The Academy has 800 student pilots annually
The Alert Areas are no longer active with the elimination of aerobatic training
All glider training has been curtailed
UAS programs are critical to keeping the Academy engineering program viable.
Western Governor’s Associations – Ms. Ann Walker
The Governors Association is working with Oregon National Guard, BLM and the Forest Service on airspace issues.
Working to establish coordination proposals for disaster support.
Our Agents in Mexico are under attack – we are very concerned about the escalation of weapons in Mexico.
BLM/USFS Fire Aviation – Ms. Stewart (USFA/BLM National Airspace Program Manager)
Every Fire is a Unique Challenge there were more than 80,000 fires in the United States during 2011. There were over 2,000 aircraft involved in fire fighting last year.
Federal Land - nearly all of the federally controlled land is below Special Use Airspace.
BLM Aviation Program is organized by state.
2012 Exclusive-Use Fire Helicopter Fleet
9 Type II (4 in Fairbanks, Apple Valley, Twin Falls, Boise, Burns and Lakeview)
14 Type III
11 SEATS (Single Engine Air Tankers)
1 CL-215 (Water Scooper)
FY 2011 Exclusive-Use Fire helicopter fleet flew 4,064 hrs
2.8 Million Gallons Suppressants delivered
14,096 Passengers
USFS Aviation
Owns and operates 27 aircraft & helicopters
Contracts with over 800 aircraft & helicopters annually
We created the graphic TFRs displays that have been adopted by FAA.
We use DINS the number one site for graphic TFRs but there are some issues with the website.
We use the NOTAM entry system but there are some issues with that as well.
We now have the 1255 National Fire Fighting Transponder Code.
Fire Traffic Area (FTA) is similar to Class B airspace around a major airport, it enhances safety in the high density vicinity of the fire.
No one enters the FTA until they have communications
Automated Flight Following (AFF) is available nationwide tracking altitude and location for all firefighting aircraft. It is satellite based with GPS for dimension tracking information.
Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is our working environment. A “TFR” is a TEMPORARY flight RESTRICTION enacted by the FAA at the request of a responsible party, in order to enhance aviation safety. It provides a safe environment for operations of disaster relief aircraft including fire fighting aircraft.
The TFR permits five types of aircraft into this type of TFR.
Aircraft participating in the activity
Aircraft operating under ATC approved IFR flight plan
Law Enforcement Aircraft
VFR Airport Traffic
Accredited Media
It is a high risk area with other authorized aircraft.
Types of Airspace our aircraft operate in all types of airspace; Prohibited, Restricted and other Special Use Airspace and within Wilderness Areas and Wildlife Refuges.
Special Conservation Areas Overflights - Pilots are requested to maintain a minimum altitude of 2,000 feet above the surface of
National parks
Monuments
Seashores
Lake shores
Recreation areas
Scenic river ways
Military Operations Area - 406 MOAs in the US: Contains military activities such as air combat maneuvers, intercepts, acrobatics, etc. General aviation allowed to fly inside MOAs (Practice “See and Avoid”)
Alert Areas - 38 Alert Areas in the US where there is pilot training areas of high volume or unusual aeronautical activity is taking place. General Aviation may fly within the Alert Area.
Memorandoms of Understanding
Mountain Homer AFB and the Utah Test and Training Range.
NAS Whidbey MOU – provides daily scheduling e-mails to firefighting organizations.
Controlled Firing Areas for the US Army
Military Training Routes: There are more than 550 MTRs in the United States. These routes can be up to 60 NM wide.
Air Force Slow Routes (SRs) 170 routes flown by Air Force Cargo aircraft slower than 250 Knots.
Flown at low altitude (Surface to 1500 AGL).
Includes Para cargo and Parachute drop zones.
Low Altitude Tactical Navigation areas are not published and used for random navigation by Air Force aircraft.
Low Altitude Helicopter Aerial Refueling Routes with C-130 to helicopter refueling.
Military Exercises
McChord Air Force Base Rodeo 2011 – Airspace Coordinator participated in the planning and execution of this exercise to deconflict with fire fighting operations.
Sentry Eagle 2011 – Klamath Falls, Oregon with the Kingsley Field Open House in July.
Texas Fire Season
Texas Forest Service is the lead for all disasters in Texas.
Worst Drought condition since recording started in 1885.
April was very difficult with many major fires.
34,000 fires in Texas with multiple fires in almost every county.
