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Combat Raider Major Force Exersize ND,SD, MT

mvivion

SPONSOR
Bozeman,MT
Folks,
In case you haven't got the word, if you're flying through or in eastern Montana, North Dakota or South Dakota in the next few days, be aware that a major force exercise will be ongoing in the Powder River MOAs there. Here's a news release:

[FONT=&quot]MAY 13, 2019[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]COMBAT RAIDER 19-2 SCHEDULED FOR MAY 14-16[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Combat Raider, a military exercise involving various aircraft, is scheduled for May 14-16 in the Powder River Training Complex. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Combat Raider provides joint and coalition training under realistic scenarios that support full-spectrum operations against modern threats and replicate today’s combat operations. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Aircraft involved include the B-52, B-2, B-1, Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar (J-STAR), Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), F-35, F-16, C-17 and KC-135. This exercise marks the first time the F-35 will fly in the PRTC airspace and the first time the C-17 will participate. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This exercise will require the 28th Bomb Wing to extend airfield operating hours until May 16. Residents of the base and surrounding communities can expect to hear noises in the late evening hours associated with flying aircraft and maintenance activities.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The exercise will also use the Temporary Rushmore Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace. The TRATCAA is the same geographic airspace as the PRTC, yet extended vertically.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]During this period, people living under the following PRTC military operations areas can expect to see multiple types of aircraft utilizing the areas simultaneously:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Powder River One[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Powder River Two[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Powder River Three[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Powder River Four[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Gaps A, B and C [/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]The TRATCAA will be above PRTC [/FONT][FONT=&quot]up to FL510 (approximately 51,000 feet)[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]All bomber supersonic activities will occur more than 20,000 feet above mean sea level and all transient fighter supersonic activity will occur more than 10,000 feet above ground level. People living under Powder River Two, Powder River Three, and Gap B should expect to be affected, however, sonic boom activity is possible throughout the entire PRTC.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A map of the airspace is available for reference on the Ellsworth AFB website at https://www.ellsworth.af.mil/Home/Powder-River-Training-Complex/.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As a reminder, non-military aircraft should thoroughly review the Federal Aviation Administration’s Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, and review flight plans to avoid these areas and altitudes where aircraft will be participating by calling 1-800-WXBRIEF.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The NOTAMs for the exercise, issued by the FAA 72 hours prior to its start, will act as the final official notice. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-30-[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Contact 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs at 605-385-5056 to cover the exercise.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Daniel Rosenfield, 2d Lt, USAF
Media Operations Section Chief
28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, SD
O: 605.385.5056 | C: 214.991.4582
www.ellsworth.af.mil
 
Out of curiosity. Is GPS use ever affected during military excercises such as this in the lower 48? ..Perhaps they only save those experiements for Alaska?
 
Out of curiosity. Is GPS use ever affected during military excercises such as this in the lower 48? ..Perhaps they only save those experiements for Alaska?

Yes, this exercise will involve GPS jamming as part of the scenario. My understanding is the jamming will originate at Malmstrom AFB, just east of Great Falls. I don't know if there will be jamming from points further east. But, from Malmstrom, jamming should reach a few hundred miles east anyway.

More and more, GPS jamming is part of exercises, so beware. There was jamming in southern Idaho during an exercise there recently.

Check notams if you're going flying out there. Note the sizes of the Powder River MOAs.....there's really no practical way to "go around" that airspace.


MTV
 
It is the "inconveniences" that we all must endure occasionally. They need wide open airspace to do this stuff. I go thru MOAs all the time but accept the risk. I operated in them as an Air Force pilot and rarely had conflicts. This exercise is a big deal. Thanks Mike for the heads up.

If GPS goes down then you will have to do some of the pilotage stuff.
 
Or fly IFR...I-90 US12/212 and I-94 are good roads I follow east-west.


Sent from my iPad using SuperCub.Org
 
A day without GPS would shut down 99% of the ground rigs and most of the Aerial Applicators too.
 
I still remember how to use flags. Give me a chance to catch up with the ground pounders !!

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk
 
All the old flaggers are dead of chemical poisoning!
Au contraire. I have breathed Stam in the ricefields and all types of cotton poison from Ag Cats and Air Tractors. 60 years and no problems.
My personal favorite was Toxaphene though many of my peers preferred the light sweetness of methyl parathion. They made the pilots take periodic blood tests.
The flaggers not so much.
 
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