Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range

Coordinates: 32°27′45″N 113°26′45″W / 32.46250°N 113.44583°W / 32.46250; -113.44583

Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range
Located near: Yuma, Arizona
Site information
Controlled by  United States Air Force
IATA: none – ICAO: none
Summary
Map

Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range

Sign along El Camino Del Diablo roadside in the BMGR, near Wellton, Arizona.

The Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range (BMGR, formerly known as Luke Air Force Range) is a bombing range in the U.S. state of Arizona, near the Mexico–United States border.

It is primarily used for air-to-ground bombing practice by United States Air Force pilots flying A-10s from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, F-16s and F-35 Lightning II from Luke Air Force Base and Tucson Air National Guard Base, and United States Marine Corps pilots and naval flight officers in F/A-18s and AV-8B Harriers flying from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. It is also used by other U.S. and NATO/Allied/Coalition flight crews while deployed to any of the aforementioned bases for training.

The entire range is approved for day and night operations. Four controlled, manned, and electronically scored surface attack ranges are available for pilots to practice basic air-to-surface weapons delivery, including bombing, rocket delivery, and strafing. Additionally, three expansive, uncontrolled tactical ranges are available. Each of these tactical ranges spans several hundred square miles, and each contains two full-size airfield mockups plus many diverse arrays of targets, including structures, vehicle convoys, aircraft, and armor. These ranges are used to train pilots for strike and close air support missions, and support various types of live ordnance. Furthermore, JTACs from various military services and countries frequently train on the same ranges and direct the air attacks. An air-to-air gunnery range is also available.

Near the center of the range complex, Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field (near Gila Bend, Arizona) serves as an emergency landing strip for pilots/flight crews training on the ranges.

The Air Force operates the eastern portion of the BMGR (south of Interstate 8) while the Marine Corps operates the western portion, where Yodaville Urban Target Complex (R-2301 West) is located.

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.