Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
12/5/2014
The Nov. 28 release of a Final Environmental Impact Statement has activated a 30-day waiting period before Air Force officials will decide whether to expand the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC), currently used by B-52s housed at Minot AFB and B-1s housed at Ellsworth AFB. The PRTC currently spans approximately 9,600 horizontal square miles, and the service would like to spread it across 34,000 square miles above parts of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. In the expanded airspace, pilots could employ occasional supersonic maneuvers, train more realistically and deploy more defensive countermeasures like chaff and flares, according to the Air Force. The service also contends that an expanded PRTC would allow for more aircraft to train closer to home, saving more than $24 million in yearly fuel costs.
Local residents and commercial airline stakeholders, though, have raised concerns including increased air traffic, noise and air pollution. On Dec. 28 or after, the Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration will issue separate Records of Decision on whether and how to expand the airspace, a precursory step to authorizing airmen to use the airspace, according to an Ellsworth AFB announcement.
Existing Space Not Suitable for ‘Growing Training Mission Requirements’ of B-52s and B-1s
The Air Force claims that the airspace of the existing PRTC cannot accommodate the growing training mission requirements of the B-52 and B-1, according to the EIS executive summary. The confined space offers limited accessibility to aircraft housed at farther bases—such as Minot—as the closest bases get priority, according to the service. In addition to extraneous fuel costs, aircraft commuting to the complex from farther bases often incur extensive maintenance hours, precious time that could be used for training, the Air Force states. “The B-1 and B-52 aircrews currently face aircraft and threat systems with ranges far in excess of the existing Powder River airspace,” the Air Force said. “Training must include detecting and reacting to such threats.”
Maximum of 10 Days Per Year for Large Training Events
The Air Force has proposed conducting a maximum of 10 days of large force exercises per year, which would involve an estimated 20 aircraft – including bombers and tankers – training during four-hour timeframes. The EIS proposes limiting all PRTC training activity to altitudes of 26,000 feet or less, to avoid interference with commercial aircraft flying at higher elevations. The Air Force’s preferred alternative would expand the existing PRTC area, which would become one of four established training areas, or Military Operations Area (MOA). Under the preferred proposal, the westernmost MOA would start about 35 miles east of Billings, Mont., a city of over 109,000 that houses an international airport.
The EIS proposes dividing the MOA—dubbed “Powder River-1”—into four distinct vertical and four separate horizontal segments to free up as much space as possible for arrivals and departures at local airports, and the service states that it will publish MOA activity times on websites and on FAA charts. Within 60 nautical miles of airport approach radars, deployment of chaff would have stricter limits to prevent interference with the radars.
Community Impacts
The EIS also calls for a noise avoidance schedule for the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, located in southeastern Montana, and avoiding low overflight above the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations. The Air Force states that it also intends to enable seasonal flight restrictions over residences, communities and ranches, to steer clear of interfering with ranch operations, including the “branding, calving, [and] weaning” of range animals.
