Military

Jacksonville Airspace Complex

Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility [FACSFAC] Jacksonville controls the majority of the warning airspace off the Atlantic coast of the southern states. The Jacksonville OPAREA is a surface and subsurface operating area overlapping W-157, W-158, W-159 and extending from the surface to ocean bottom. No live ordnance will be expended during surface and subsurface exercises without prior clearance and approval from FACSFAC Jacksonville.

FACSFAC Jacksonville's interface with the locally based Jacksonville ARTCC and the Jacksonville TRACON is facilitated by the assignment of a long-tenure, experienced, and mutually respected FAA liaison officer (NAVLO) at the facility, and is a model for DoN/FAA coordination. The FAA has proposed consolidation of several North Florida and Central Florida ATC facilities into the Suncoast TRACON. As of Spring 2001, this project was being held in abeyance over employee concerns. Should it proceed, the relocation of Jacksonville TRACON to the Orlando area could complicate coordination processes.

FACSFAC Jacksonville and Jacksonville ARTCC have initiated an airspace coordination process using a non-standard software application (the Air Force developed Falcon View flight planning tool). Either facility can develop and depict airspace using Falcon View and transmit the data to the other. This enables virtually real-time development and use of working areas and corridors through the warning areas, and enhances the flow of civil traffic at minimal impact on DoN flight operations. The applied communications technology is being updated and further integration studies are ongoing.

FACSFAC Jacksonville responsibilities, like those of the other FACSFACs, extend well beyond air traffic. Surface and subsurface users are a significant responsibility. Some unique requirements apply, in particular the need to track endangered Northern Right Whales in the operating areas. This was directed by CINCLANTFLT in 1997, to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

FACSFAC Jacksonville manages three overland ranges located approximately forty miles south of Jacksonville. The Pinecastle, Rodman and Lake George target complexes offer excellent training, although long term restrictions and the rapid growth of commercial air traffic adjacent to and over the ranges' associated SUA limited their ultimate utility. FACSFAC, Jacksonville ARTCC and civil users in the area have cooperated to open inactive SUA to civil training operators; thus far this program has been assessed as successful (i.e., no compromise of safety or operations efficiency has been reported). Following the closure of NAS Cecil, and given the difficulty in hosting fighter/attack deployments at NAS Jacksonville, much of the ranges' use has come from carrier-launched strikes.

An analysis of the cost in comparison to the benefit of consolidating the FACSFAC at Pensacola with the facility in Jacksonville is continuing. This initiative is being driven by the decision to terminate a permanent carrier presence in the Gulf Of Mexico. One new factor in the deliberations will be the expansion of the building housing the FACSFAC at Jacksonville. Another factor will be the degree of long term dependence the Navy places upon using the facilities at Eglin Air Force Base as a partial alternative to the training obtained at Vieques.

The Jacksonville Complex is located in the coastal waters adjacent to the Georgia and Florida coast and the central Florida peninsula. The Townsend Range, located inland southeast of Savannah GA is also included in this section. The complex is composed of the following instrumented ranges.

• Rodman Target (R-2906)
• Lake George Complex (R-2907)
• Pinecastle Complex (R-2910)
• Beaufort Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) Range
• Townsend Range (R-3007)
• Shipboard Electronic Systems Evaluation Facility (SESEF)

Non-instrumented warning areas, Military Operating Areas (MOA), and Operating Area (OPAREA) associated with this complex are:

• Warning Area 157 (W-157)
• Warning Area 158 (W-158)
• Warning Area 159 (W-159)
• Gator Low MOA
• Live Oak MOA
• Palatka MOA One and Two
• Jacksonville OPAREA

The Shipboard Electronic Systems Evaluation Facility (SESEF) is located in building 1860 at Naval Station Mayport, FL, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Jacksonville operating area. The AN/ULM-4 range is located between the 100o and 130o radials at 5-15 NMI from the SESEF site. SESEF supports testing and analysis of shipboard electronics. No ordnance is allowed. SESEF is available Monday through Friday from 0700-1600, excluding holidays.

Warning Area 157 (W-157) is special-use airspace in the open-ocean located approximately 50 NMI northeast of the NAS Jacksonville TACAN, Channel 48. W-157A extends from the surface up to FL430; W-157B, from the surface up to FL240; and W-157C, from the surface up to 5000-feet MSL. W-157 overlaps portions of Jacksonville and Charleston OPAREAS. All air and surface gunnery and missile exercises using conventional ordnance are authorized. Antisubmarine, TACTS and torpedo exercises are also conducted.

Warning Area 158 (W-158) is special-use airspace in the open-ocean located approximately 50 NMI southeast of the NAS Jacksonville TACAN, Channel 48. W-158A extends from the surface up to FL430; W-158B, from the surface up to FL240; W-158C, from FL430 up to unlimited altitude; W-158D, from 1200-feet MSL up to FL120; W-158E, from the surface up to 1200-feet MSL; and W-158F, from 1200-feet MSL up to 1700-feet MSL. W-158C overlies W-157A/B, W-158A/B, W-159A/B and portions of Jacksonville and Charleston OPAREAS. All air and surface gunnery and missile exercises using conventional ordnance are authorized. Antisubmarine, and torpedo exercises are also conducted. Air and surface exercises using ordnance are not normally authorized in the W-158E and W-158F areas.

Warning Area 159 (W-159) is special-use airspace in the open-ocean located approximately 35 NMI east of the NAS Jacksonville TACAN, Channel 48. W-159A extends from the surface up to FL430, and W-159B extends from the surface up to FL240. W-159 overlaps portions of the Jacksonville OPAREA. Live ordnance expenditure is not normally authorized.

The Gator Low MOA is special-use airspace over southeastern Georgia approximately 70 NMI north of the NAS Cecil Field TACAN, Channel 88, bearing 360°. The Gator Low MOA extends from 1400-feet MSL to 18,000-feet MSL. The MOA is used for ACM, instrument training, and other military flight exercises. No ordnance is authorized.

The Live Oak MOA is special-use airspace located over central Florida approximately 40 NMI southwest of the NAS Cecil Field TACAN, Channel 88. The Live Oak MOA extends from 8000-feet MSL to 18,000-feet MSL. The MOA is used for ACM, instrument training, and other military flight operations. No ordnance is authorized.

The Palatka MOA One and Two are special-use airspace located in central and northeast FL. The Palatka 1 and 2 MOA extend from 3000-feet above ground level up to, but not including, FL180, and they encompass the Pinecastle, Lake George, and Rodman Target complexes. The Palatka 1 and 2 MOA are available to increase the volume of usable airspace associated with the Pinecastle, Lake George, and Rodman Targets.

Rodman Target (R-2906)

Rodman Target (R-2906) is an unmanned day/night rocket/practice target located 45 NMI south of the NAS Cecil Field TACAN, Channel 88, bearing 170° in the Palatka Two MOA. R-2906 is a five NMI circle centered at 29° 29'W, 81° 46'W, excluding the area east of the east bank of the St. John's River and extends from the-surface up to FL140 (normally scheduled to 11,000-feet). Air-to-ground exercises using inert ordnance are authorized. Only MK 76/106 practice bombs, Bomb Dummy Unit (BDU) 33, BDU 48 and 2.75-inch Folding Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR) with inert heads, are permitted. The Conventional Bull target consists of a bull's-eye made up of surplus military equipment surrounded by two concentric rings of 50 and 100-feet radii. Practice bombs and 2.75-inch inert FFAR are authorized. Rodman Target is available Monday through Friday from 0800 to 2300.

Lake George Target (R-2907)

Lake George Target consists of a roughly rectangular water surface area approximately 2 NMI wide by 7 NMI long. Within its boundaries are three established target areas and a Mine Exercise (MINEX) area. Lake George Target is located approximately 55 NMI southeast of the NAS Cecil Field TACAN, Channel 88 in the Palatka One MOA and R-2907A which extends from the surface up to FL230 (normally scheduled to 11,000-feet MSL unless otherwise requested). R-2907B is special use airspace extending westerly from the Lake George Target. Day and night air-to-ground exercises using inert ordnance, up to five-inch rockets (inert), flares, searchlights, and photoflash are authorized. Live ordnance is prohibited. Lake George is normally available Monday through Friday from 0800 to 2300.

Targets include:

1. Northern Target. The Northern target consists of pilings in a 24-foot square with nine corner radar reflectors to be used for low-altitude radar bombing and searchlight illumination practice. The target is surrounded by one concentric ring of pilings with a 900-foot radius. Scoring is not available on this target. Practice bombs and inert MK 80 series and inert rockets (up to 5-inch) are authorized.
2. Center Target. The Center target consists of a sled constructed of surplus drop tanks with a platform-mounted radar reflector surrounded by three concentric rings of 250, 500, and 1000-foot radii. Practice bombs, inert MK 80 series bombs, inert rockets (up to five-inch), and paraflares are authorized.
3. Southern Target. The Southern target consists of a rectangular area (approximately 30-feet by 60-feet) outlined by six pilings surrounded by three concentric rings of 250, 500, and 1000-foot radii. Practice bombs and inert MK 80 series bombs and inert rockets (up to five-inch) are authorized.
4. MINEX Range. MINEX Range consists of four pre-planned splash points on a 129.69° bearing from Kinsley Point. Practice bombs and inert MK 80 Series bombs and inert rockets (up to five-inch) are authorized.
5. Sea-borne Powered Targets (SEPTARs). Targets are QST-33/35 SEPTARs, which are employed within the 2 NMI by 7 NMI danger zone. The QST-33 SEPTARs are highly maneuverable, remotely controlled, self-propelled fiberglass 18-foot boats used as moving targets for inert rocket and bombing practice. The QST-35 SEPTAR is 55-feet long and it's maneuverability closely resembles that of the "KOMAR" class missile boats. Control of the SEPTARs is accomplished from the Pine Island spotting tower by means of the AN/ARW-80 Target Control Set.