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Live Bombing At Avon Park Range Suspended
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Published: January 16, 2009
AVON PARK - The U.S. Navy has indefinitely suspended its plans to use live bombs at the Avon Park Air Force Range due to budgetary issues, said Lt. Cmdr. Philip Rosi, public relations officer for the U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
As a result of its worldwide operational tempo and reductions in its training budget, the Navy has been forced to reconsider its options for live bombing, said Rosi on Thursday.
"The efforts we have to complete range and ground target preparations will continue," Rosi said. "We're not able to predict what our operational timeline will be at this time. But, installation of support instrumentation and the hire of annual operations personal have been suspended until such a time as our operational budgetary conditions improve."
Preparation work at the range, such as building needed roads, erecting fencing, target area clearance and target preparation, should begin in a few months.
The Navy's next budget cycle for 2010 begins on Oct. 1.
"This has been decided by Air Combat Command and the Navy, and they're saying it's based on their budget situation," said Avon Park Air Force Base Commander Lt. Col. Charles "Buck" Maclaughlin on Thursday afternoon. "We stand by and support them as a range."
The Navy has been trying several years to use live 500- to 2,000-pound explosives on the bombing range to better simulate the potential combat situations for pilots in their training.
In 2005, Navy officials favored Avon Park over nine other ranges partially for its central location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Avon Park is also the largest bombing range east of the Mississippi River.
The timeline has been pushed back numerous times because of funding issues.
Highlands Today reporter Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 of jseelig@highlandstoday.com .
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