The Air Force plan to open more airspace over Utah and Nevada to expand the training area for aircraft predominantly flying out of Hill Air Force Base in Utah has met with continued resistance from environmentalists, civil pilots, and area residents. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that opponents to the plan say the Air Force has failed to make its case for the extra airspace. The service earlier downsized its plan, and officials thought it would be on safer ground. The newspaper reports that a coalition of groups and individuals in opposition, now known as the Rural Alliance for Military Accountability, sent a letter to the Air Force decrying the environmental impact statement on the initiative as “fatally flawed” and “deceptive.” The alliance believes the service has underestimated the noise level from supersonic flights among other issues.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
