Warning Areas

moeflyin

152 BOSS
Hello! A student of mine asked a question today that I did not have an answer to. "Does the military conduct live fire in warning areas?" I said would research this. So for the many military guys out there, what exactly goes on in the warning areas? Is there live fire drills?

Thanks!
 
Hello! A student of mine asked a question today that I did not have an answer to. "Does the military conduct live fire in warning areas?" I said would research this. So for the many military guys out there, what exactly goes on in the warning areas? Is there live fire drills?

Thanks!

Yes. Warning Areas are offshore areas where live fire is going on or other dangerous activity to non-participants. Things such as air to surface bombing, surface to air missile firings and gunnery and the like. As well as other activities air-related that aren't as much of a threat.
 
Yes, that does happen sometimes. From a USAF perspective, we do mostly the same thing in the Whiskey areas that we do in the MOAs, plus additional stuff like supersonic flight and use of chaff and flare.

But, sometimes there is live fire of both aircraft and ships out there.
 
Hello! A student of mine asked a question today that I did not have an answer to. "Does the military conduct live fire in warning areas?" I said would research this. So for the many military guys out there, what exactly goes on in the warning areas? Is there live fire drills?

Thanks!

Not yes, but heck yes. I've lived near the coast most my life and once in awhile you can hear it.

It addition there is a lot of high speed fighters chasing one another out there.

SHIP_Battleship_Iowa_Front_Firing_lg.jpg
 
Yes, that does happen sometimes. From a USAF perspective, we do mostly the same thing in the Whiskey areas that we do in the MOAs, plus additional stuff like supersonic flight and use of chaff and flare.

But, sometimes there is live fire of both aircraft and ships out there.

Ive always seen Warning Areas as MOAs with ordnance expenditures going on. Legal to enter, unlike a Restricted Area, but with firing going on, unlike a MOA or Alert Area.
 
Ive always seen Warning Areas as MOAs with ordnance expenditures going on. Legal to enter, unlike a Restricted Area, but with firing going on, unlike a MOA or Alert Area.

I didn't think warning areas were legal to enter. Anyway, legal or not, probably #1 on my list for places I would want to avoid while in the sky. I hear light singles look a lot like target drones...
 
I didn't think warning areas were legal to enter. Anyway, legal or not, probably #1 on my list for places I would want to avoid while in the sky. I hear light singles look a lot like target drones...

They're non-regulated airspace, since they're offshore. They start beyond 3 miles offshore, but usually more. And can be in both domestic, but are usually in international, airspace.

It's covered in the AIM too, so it's not information that only mil guys would know.
 
I didn't think warning areas were legal to enter. Anyway, legal or not, probably #1 on my list for places I would want to avoid while in the sky. I hear light singles look a lot like target drones...
Sure they're legal to enter, just like MOAs or Alert areas. Just know what you're getting into. When we work off the east coast from ACY to ORF we transit A LOT of potentially hazardous airspace. We coordinate with Giant Killer (which is the military ATC for those areas). There is one particular sliver of always hot airspace where live ordinance is dumped for any reason - practice, emergency disposal, etc. that's always an interesting transit...
 
Sure they're legal to enter, just like MOAs or Alert areas. Just know what you're getting into. When we work off the east coast from ACY to ORF we transit A LOT of potentially hazardous airspace. We coordinate with Giant Killer (which is the military ATC for those areas). There is one particular sliver of always hot airspace where live ordinance is dumped for any reason - practice, emergency disposal, etc. that's always an interesting transit...

I am intimately familiar with W-386. It is always hot up to F240, never flown near there, but having observed the radar returns, I wouldn't go near it without a clearance from GK. We can't clear IFR traffic through it without permission from GK.
 
I am intimately familiar with W-386. It is always hot up to F240, never flown near there, but having observed the radar returns, I wouldn't go near it without a clearance from GK. We can't clear IFR traffic through it without permission from GK.
Yep, it's nasty.
While they don't have the restrictions of a Restricted Area, it's good to treat them that way.
This.
 
Tell it to your student like this.

"Treat it like a restriced area. See if it's active, and if you decide to enter and you get a hole poked in your airplane by a bullet or another airplane, well, they warned you that might happen."
 
Thanks! And yes I know all that other fun AIM info about warning areas, just wasn't sure if live fire activities occurred.
 
Like others have said, Warning Areas are potentially very dangerous for non-participants. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about the live ordnance part (at least from an aviation standpoint), as live shoots are very controlled, with normally various range spotter aircraft and boats/ships clearing the area for any potential unlucky bystanders........that said, naval artillery still does go down in some of these areas, and I have no idea what they are working with safety wise.

Anyway, the big risk would just be winding up in the middle of a 10-20 jet exercise, with everyone flying at tactical airspeeds, potentially very focused on the mission at hand, and just not having a whole lot of SA to non-participating airplanes. Generally GK or Beaver or whoever will come up on Guard (we normally are up an area common freq and not directly in comms with the controlling agency) if someone comes through, but that isn't always enough. There are plenty of times when I will be inverted (or some other unusual attitude), supersonic, trying to work the radar, maintain my formation, while communicating with AIC, and employing weapon systems. About the last thing I have time for is searching the sky for some random dude trolling through the area who is uncalled by anyone. They aren't "Restricted" areas, because the FAA has no authority to restrict airspace outside US airspace, but they have every type of activity of a restricted area going on.

Get in contact with the controlling agency, and coordinate transit if you need to. Warning areas aren't always hot, and they will often put a temporary cap on our altitude to allow for someone to transit over the top. That gives everyone a warm fuzzy, and will prevent a dangerous near or actual midair. At the very least, it will cue the controlling agency to give us a heads up so we can avoid you. We're all aviators, and I have no more of a desire to die in a fiery midair than any civilian pilot out there. I also have no desire to make you fly 300 miles out of your way just so that I can have the sky to myself. There are very easy ways to deconflict that make everyone happy, so long as everyone is doing the right thing and communicating with one another (or again, the controlling agency).
 
Our E-6's are typically farther out, beyond the warning areas. However, there are times when the weather is bad out there that we will stay closer to land in a warning area.

We need to have no clouds above the freezing layer in order to orbit our wires. Need less to say, a warning area listed as "invisible hazard to flight" is not a place to be strolling through.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Not yes, but heck yes. I've lived near the coast most my life and once in awhile you can hear it.

It addition there is a lot of high speed fighters chasing one another out there.

SHIP_Battleship_Iowa_Front_Firing_lg.jpg
Battleships are freaking awesome.
They're non-regulated airspace, since they're offshore. They start beyond 3 miles offshore, but usually more. And can be in both domestic, but are usually in international, airspace.

It's covered in the AIM too, so it's not information that only mil guys would know.
Yeah, the AIM entry is pretty sketchy on details.
I love a thread that starts with, A student of mine asked...and ends with, It's in the AIM.
I dunno, I think the OPs question was pretty legit-the AIM entry is tiny and doesn't give you any remote idea what KIND of hazardous activities happen out there. The only ones I ever got acquainted with involved extensive helo activity going out to the gulf oil fields, if you'd asked me if there was live fire in warning areas I probably would have guessed "no".
 
Back
Top