Assault Airstrip Environmental Assessment
Abstract
The 46 Test Wing has determined the operations on the Eglin Range Complex have increased sufficiently to make the reopening of unimproved assault airstrips a necessary and desired action. The evaluation of available assets in the Environmental Assessment quickly narrows down areas meeting 46 Test Wing needs to the inactive assault airstrip at Rock Hill. 46 Test Wing manages the air and ground space throughout the Eglin Range Complex. The four dimensional scheduling tasks are complex and dense as new missions are added to the air and ground space. Managing in four dimensions is to consider each mission in terms of altitude(s) required; the breadth of the maneuvers; total length of the required "box" of space; and the timing of the event. The addition of F-35 training, increases in C-130 operations, adding 7 Special Forces training, increases in 6 Ranger Battalion, and the heavy use of small remotely piloted observation aircraft has made air and ground training management very complex. The 46 Test Wing also hosts ongoing test and evaluations of munitions, aircraft, space systems, and others. To accommodate this, the existing airfields are being heavily utilized and upgraded under BRAC 2005. These upgraded airfields do not meet the need for primitive forward airbase and bare base simulated operations. These types of missions also require a remote airfield to practice night landing preferably on a dirt strip. Dirt airstrips cannot sustain continuous use by C-130 aircraft without ongoing and costly airstrip grooming (leveling out ruts). The proposed schedule of use of this proposed action falls below the need for continuous maintenance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA609313
Entities
People
- C. S. Speal
- Michael J. Jago
- Mindy Rogers
- Mitchell Bolin
- Paul Bolduc
- Robert Roof
- William Kasper
Organizations
- Air Armament Center