Air Force To Expand MOA In Northern Plains

The Air Force is moving ahead with plans to triple the size of the Powder River MOAs over the northern Plains.In a statementissued Friday, the Air Force said the expansion would allow training flights for the B-1 Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress to operate closer to the bases at Ellsworth in South Dakota and Minot in North Dakota. The Air Force first proposed the expansion in May 2008, and the FAA last year released an airspace study that piqued concerns from GA organizations including AOPA over the impact on civilian aircraft.

The MOAs, Powder River A and B, now overlie bits of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. If approved by the FAA, the expansion would spread the footprint farther into those states as well as into southwestern North Dakota. An Associated Press reporton the plan saidthe expansion could save Ellsworth up to $23 million a year in fuel costs spent on flying to training areas in Utah and Nevada.But officials in some of the expansion areas worry about noise and safety problems arising from military flights over livestock ranches and residential areas. The Air Force said in its plan it would restrict low-altitude and supersonic flights as well as flare releases in some areas.

Details on the plan are on the Ellsworth Air Force Base web site.