Large exercise scheduled in Powder River Complex
A major exercise will take place March 14 to 16 in the Powder River Training Complex, a 28,000-square-mile area of special-use airspace in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
The large-force exercise named Combat Raider will involve multiple types of aircraft operating simultaneously in different segments of the complex, according to a news release issued by Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
Pilots of VFR aircraft who may wish to transit military operations areas when exercises are in progress are urged to request information on the active periods of the complex’s MOAs, depicted on this airspace map, during their preflight briefings, and use extreme caution when flying in the airspace.
The announcement noted the potential for “loud noises associated with sonic booms,” with B-1 supersonic bomber activities occurring above 20,000 feet msl and all transient fighter supersonic activity above 10,000 feet agl.
The scheduled operation is the fifth large force exercise to be held in the Powder River Training Complex since operations began there in September 2015.
In November 2016, AOPA led a meeting of the Powder River Council, a group composed of military and civilian airspace users, to begin discussions on how to collaborate on solutions to issues raised by the multiple demands on the airspace.
