The Air Force is planning to expand the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, commonly called JPARC, to improve training capabilities in Alaska. Leaders from Eielson Air Force Base said the current airspace in the JPARC is deficient for modern aircraft and combat capabilities.
Fairbanks , Alaska - The Air Force is planning to expand the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex , commonly called JPARC , to improve training capabilities in Alaska. Leaders from Eielson Air Force Base said the current airspace in the JPARC is deficient for modern aircraft and combat capabilities.
The JPARC is considered to be the “the premier training airspace in the United States,” said Col. Randy Jacobson, the director of operations for the 11th Air Force. He also referred to the JPARC as a “national treasure.” But deficiencies with the current configuration of the JPARC has limited training possibilities. To address these deficiencies, the Air Force has proposedThe expansion will also come with a reconfiguration of the airspace, expanding vertical limits for flight operations. According to the Air Force, one of the major issues with JPARC in its current configuration is that it is designed for older generations of aircraft which were designed for close-range combat, whereas fourth and fifth generation aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35, can engage in combat at increased range. There is also a desire to utilize low-altitude and terrain-masking tactics which will require lowering the floor, or lower vertical limit, of the airspace. Normal day-to-day operations would not change with the proposed expansion. Some exercises would see increased use of the airspace, primarily major flying exercises. These include exercises such as the annual Red Flag exercises, in which partners from around the U.S. and other nations come to Alaska to simulate real-world combat scenarios. One way these multi-national training operations would expand includes in duration. Leaders from Eielson AFB said this would likely result in an increase of exercise durations “potentially increasing from 60 up to 75 days per year,” according to Maj. Jeffery Teufel, the director of operations for the 354th Range Squadron. The expansions would mean more airspace that could be used by the Air Force for training, which would come into the direct flight paths of commercial flights, including those that go to Fairbanks. To prevent issues with potential shared airspace between military and commercial aircraft, ”we’re usually publishing NOTAMs about potentially activating military airspace,” explained Blake Matray, the senior airspace manager for 354th Range Squadron. Leaders from Eielson Air Force Base will also continue to conduct constant communication with other air services. Such information can be found on the Federal Aviation Administration’s special use airspace information site which “generally shows airspace that’s planned to be active within the next 24 hours,” Matray said. These notifications along with other communications will also inform pilots of GPS jamming if airspace is activated, which the Air Force currently does. The safety of the proposals is to be reviewed by the environmental impact statement that the public and other regulating bodies can comment on before any proposal takes effect. Depending on the analyses of the impact statement, some additional infrastructure may be required to ensure safety, but further considerations such as emergency response plans will be included in the impact statement. Despite the expansion of the JPARC and the exercises that will utilize the area, “it will not cause any changes to the bases,” Jacobson said. Public input on the proposed expansion and the environmental impact statement can be submitted Through Feb. 9.‘The Beast’ of the North Slope: Oil rig that toppled over described by someone who helped build itPriest who worked with Alex Pretti: ‘Don’t pay any attention to the vilification from our national leaders’Kotzebue man dies after being found hypothermic in abandoned cabin
Eielson Air Force Base JBER Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex Aircraft Flight Floor F-35 F-22 Gulf Of Alaska Fairbanks Commercial Flgihts Red Flag Air Force Federal Aviation Administration GPS Jamming NOTAMS Notice To Airmen Col. Randy Jacobson Maj. Jeffery Teufel Blake Matray
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