Major exercise scheduled in Powder River complex

AOPA urges pilots of non-participating aircraft to thoroughly review notices to airmen and plan to avoid areas and altitudes where the large force exercise will be underway.

The final notice of the beginning of the operation will be issued in a notam 72 hours before the exercise begins in the 28,000-square-mile area of special-use airspace in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The 28th Bomb Wing based at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota has provided this map and summary of operational information for the exercise, known as Combat Raider.

According to the U.S. Air Force, there is potential for loud noises associated with sonic booms being heard on the ground below the Power River Two, Powder River Three, and Gap B airspace. All supersonic activities of B-1 bombers will occur above 20,000 feet msl. All transient fighter supersonic activity will occur above 10,000 feet agl.

Large force exercises such as Combat Raider “provide joint and coalition training under realistic scenarios that support full spectrum operations against modern threats and replicate today’s combat operations,” the Air Force said in a news release.