Gulf Test News Today

A group of Republicans is seeking to reinstate protections for Florida’s Gulf Test Range after they were removed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The U.S. Air Force has demonstrated a lethal new weapon that could provide a low-cost and more widely-available alternative to sinking ships with traditional torpedoes. The new weapon, known as...

By JIM THOMPSON | The Walton Sun, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. | Published: February 22, 2021 EGLIN AFB, Fla. (Tribune News Service) — The Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range should get a slightly higher priority for upgrades than is currently planned by the Air Force, according to a recently released RAND Corp. analysis. The Eglin range, managed by the 96th Test Wing, covers 724 square miles of the Florida Panhandle and 120,000 square miles of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, stretching south to Key W...

The test range analysis focuses on the Air Forces own determination that "few, if any" of the services existing training ranges can provide fighter pilots with the training needed to address the threats posed by near-peer adversaries. The preface to the RAND study focuses on the 2018 national defense strategy that called for restoring warfighter readiness and moving the military from counterterrorism operations to "great power" competition, notably between the United States, Russia and Chin...

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Walton County Commissioner William "Boots" McCormick will ask his commission colleagues Tuesday to consider a resolution on former president Donald Trumps extension of a federal moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to the year 2032. McCormick has placed the issue on the agenda for the commissions meeting, set for 9 a.m. at the courthouse annex on Coastal Centre Boulevard off U.S. Highway 331 in Santa Rosa Beach. The meeting also will be availa...

The moratorium is important for the future of both the states tourism industry and to the U.S. military, which uses the 120,000-square-mile Gulf Test Range in the eastern Gulf for a variety of munitions testing and training activities. The range is overseen by the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represents Northwest Florida in Congress, consistently has called preserving and enhancing the range his top legislative priority." In the Friday announcement, S...

By 1st. Lt. Karissa Rodriguez Emerald Flag, Eglin’s first native multi-domain test exercise, was held Dec. 1-5 on the Eglin Test and Training Range. This inaugural event brought together more than 25 agencies to participate.  It was a collaborative multi-service effort focused on increasing the effectiveness of the joint domain warfighter.  “The goal is to align DoD resources across the Florida panhandle and enable multi-domain test and experimentation to prepare the warfighter for a 21st...