“Nope” on Sharing the Owyhees With LOWAT Supersonic Fighters Aircraft

(29 Oct 2019 / Author: Tim Bondy) The U.S. Military would like us to share the backcountry of the Owyhees of Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon with low-flying fighter aircraft flying in excess of the speed of sound. Of course, we already share the Owyhees with supersonic fighters that fly above 10,000 (MSL) feet in this same exact area. The results of these new low-level flights will be more sonic booms and obnoxious rumblings in this remote section of the West. If you spend any time in the backcountry of Owyhee County, maybe you should research the DoD proposal as I did. I’ll cut to the chase and let you know right now, I am against this proposed plan. 

In the words of the U.S. Military, they would like to:

“optimize the Mountain Home Range Complex (MHRC) airspace to be a more realistic and efficient training environment in order to counter and defeat near-peer threats in the air and on the ground by removing artificial training limitations.“

The Issues Regarding the USAF Plans

The USAF said it would like to:

• Provide consistent low-altitude floors for “low-altitude training” (LOWAT) flights at or below 500 feet above ground level (AGL) and thereby allowing the use of topographic features of mountainous terrain to mask the aircraft and safely neutralize or avoid technologically advanced threats.
• Allow training aircrews to descend at supersonic speed and to fly at lower supersonic altitudes, so aircrews could realistically train on evasive maneuvers to altitudes of 5,000 feet AGL. 
• The feedback and documents provided during the November 2019 meetings will be considered when completing their future Environmental Impact Study (EIS). That EIS will consider 17 different resource areas, including “land use and recreation” concerns.  
• Change the operational limits in the Jarbidge North and Owyhee North Military Operating Areas (MOAs):
  • From the currently allowable supersonic flights at 10,000 Above Ground Level (AGL) up to 30,000 feet MSL to …
  • Supersonic flights from 100 feet AGL to 30,000 feet (and above) MSL.
  • These changes would “permit aircrews to build proficiency in low-altitude tactics and masking using mountainous terrain for survival in a highly contested environment.“

Yes, the documentation provided by the USAF does seem a little inconsistent from document to document … at least the way I read it. The above statements are inconsistent with each other and I cut and pasted from that USAF documentation. 

Bondy’s Thought About the Issues Regarding the USAF Proposal

• I am sympathetic to the idea that our military pilots should have the best possible training in order to survive in today’s insane warfighting environment. 
• I am also someone who believes the Jarbidge North and Owyhee North Military Operating Areas located south of Mountain Home AFB should be off-limits to low-level supersonic flights (below 10,000 feet AGL and its associated sonic booms and jet engine noise.
• Imagine hiking or mountain biking in the rugged terrain of the Owyhees when an F-15 fighter drops down to 100 feet above your head at 750 mph. And in a blink of “the ear,” the sonic boom hits the desert floor around you as the jet flies off to the east. No thanks. 
• Because of the remote nature of the public lands that the Jarbidge North and Owyhee North MOAs encompass, quiet recreation is still possible. The distant noise of motorcycles, ORVs and other noisy endeavors in this deserty sage-brush steppe landscape are still a rare occurrence, at least during the week. 
• In my 12 years of enjoying “the Owyhees” of southern Idaho, sonic booms are annoying, yet not an everyday occurrence either. However, the frequent A-10 and F-15 dogfighting and air to ground training jet engine noise are frequent enough to disturb roughly one-third of any sort of quiet recreation. The addition of more very low-level (at or above 100 feet AGL) noise associated with the proposed plan isn’t acceptable to me. 
• Can I find quiet recreation areas within a comfortable travel timespan from the Mountain Home area? The answer is no. The Boise National Forest and interspersed BLM lands north of Interstate 84 do provide a rich abundance of recreation but I’ve found it’s difficult to find any opportunity for quiet recreation in that area. Heck, it’s not all that rare to watch A-10s and F-15s flying lazy routes in the Boise National Forest or even along Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

Needing Answers to These Questions

This plan to lower the floor in the Jarbidge North and Owyhee North MOAs to 100 feet AGL is still a little unclear to me. That is why I am writing about this issue and why I will be attending the scoping meeting on 8 Nov 2019 in Mountain Home, Idaho. 

1. What are the projected numbers of low-level supersonic fights each year in the Jarbidge North and Owyhee North MOAs?
2. Where exactly will the low-level supersonic flights occur?
3. What type of aircraft will be flying these LOWAT supersonic flights in the ranges?
4. Does the USAF have a video of what a 100 foot AGL supersonic fly-by would look, feel and sound like to a person on the ground?
5. Please provide a 20-year history of previously requested and previously approved changes in the airspace in question. 
6. Are there other U.S. training ranges/MOAs/areas where fighters, bombers, and other aircrews have the opportunity to train against each other, to simulate employment of weapons at supersonic speeds, and to train using tactics they would employ in actual combat. I’m thinking about the UTTR, Fallon Ranges or the Nellis AFB Ranges.
7. These are the only questions I can think of because “I don’t know what I don’t know” about the proposed USAF proposal. 

Meetings About the Proposed Changes to the Airspace (5 pm – 8 pm):

#1. On 6 Nov 2019, at the Riverside Hotel, 2900 West Chinden Blvd, Boise, Idaho.
#2. On 7 Nov 2019, at the Grand View Elementary School, 205 First Street, Grand View, Idaho.
#3. On 8 Nov 2019, at Mountain Home Junior High School, 1600 East 6 South, Mountain Home, Idaho.

I will be at the 8 Nov 2019 meeting in Mountain Home.

Public Land Issues 

• We already share the Owyhees with supersonic aircraft and the resulting booms and rumbling. 
• We already share the Owyhees with cattle grazing.
• We already share the Owyhees with miners.
• We already share the land with off-road vehicles.
• We’ve shared our public lands enough, don’t you think?

The Owyhees are a wonderful place to get away from it all. Wandering the mountains and canyons where many times, the only noises are the always present wind and the buzz of flies. This is a rare commodity in the U.S. and because of this, I don’t believe inviting low flying jets into this beautiful and isolated place is acceptable.

Yes, I understand the DoD has said our military pilots could use the low-level flying practice to ensure their survivability in a war. And yet, at the same time, the current administration (2019) has strongly indicated they want to bring home our troops and to end the endless wars. 

Other Sources of Info:

https://idahonews.com/news/local/air-force-plans-for-low-altitude-supersonic-flight-training-in-mountain-home

http://www.mountainhomeafbairspaceeis.com/index.aspx 

This story was originally published on 29 Oct 2019.