Nearby range to help new Cannon AFB wing

[unhappycamper]

Nearby range to help new Cannon AFB wing
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 25, 2009 17:59:11 EST

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AP) — The 66,000-acre Melrose Air Force Range just 25 miles from Cannon Air Force Base will become a key air-to-ground combat training area for the Air Force Special Operations Command.

“It’s not just a bombing range,” said Lt. Col. Paul Caltagirone, deputy group commander for the 27th Special Operations Group at Cannon. “Melrose is the crown jewel of the western home of the air commandos.”

The range was cited by state and local leaders who argued against closing Cannon during a round of nationwide base closures in 2005. Eventually, the base was saved with a new Special Operations Command mission.

Several additions are planned for the range, Caltagirone said. Those include two impact zones for certain types of weapons firings; drop zones for troops and cargo for the CV-22s and C-130s that will be flying at Cannon; and at least one landing zone for C-130s, CV-22s and small aircraft. The zones would recreate true blacked-out conditions and possibly unpaved surface landings.

Cannon is to get eight AC-130Hs this summer and 15 to 20 Attack Cargo aircraft over the next five years. CV-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys also will come to Cannon later this year.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_nm_new_range_012509w/%2e