Will Supplant Vieques For Aerial Bombing Practice

Residents in Vieques, Puerto Rico -- as well as protestors there -- can rest a little easier this week, after officials with the US Navy named the Avon Park Air Force Range in central Florida Wednesday as its new site to practice aerial bombardment techniques.

The Lakeland Ledger reports the announcement was expected for several months... and Naval aircraft already use the 106,073-acre bombing range, located in Polk and Highlands Counties in central Florida, for practice runs.

Under the new agreement, annual Naval bombing runs at the facility will increase from 6,900 to just under 10,000. The Navy will conduct practice operations using F/A-18E Super Hornets, based from aircraft carriers stationed in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Navy will use the range for high-explosive bombing practice three to six times a year, in blocks of 20 days each. The rest of the time, the range will remain open to hikers, bird watchers and hunters.

The area is expected to see a slight decline in revenue from those groups, as well as reduced land area available for grazing, forestry and recreational use.

A 300-foot impact zone will also have to be clear-cut, to create a buffer zone for high explosives.

FMI: www.avonparkafr.com/