Thursday, July 14, 2011

Low-flying military craft headed for NM & Colorado?

The U.S. Air Force has delayed release of an environmental impact study of its proposal to conduct intensive low-altitude training flights across a wide swath of southern Colorado -- flights as low as 200 feet that had raised concerns among local ranchers and residents seeking the quiet life. Cannon Air Force Base officials say their current training routes over flat terrain were mainly designed for F-16s. The proposed corridors, which stretch from New Mexico to Las Animas and neighboring counties in southern Colorado, present more diverse conditions and wider training opportunities for cargo aircraft such as the C-130 and the helicopter-like CV-22 Osprey, seen in the photo above. But locals have balked at the prospect of up to three flyovers a day without narrowly defined routes. Not 1 More Acre!, among the grassroots groups battling the Army's expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, has described the Low Altitude Training Navigation proposal as"part of a plan to establish the largest Joint Forces Future Combat Systems training site in the world by expanding Air Force Special Operations air space across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado for unmanned aircraft development, low altitude flights and testing of high-tech weaponry."...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of whinny ninnies! The Osprey flies around our area at varying elevations and causes no trouble. Grow Up!