Notice of Intent

 

This is an image of the first page of the Notice Intent.

 

Project Overview Fact Sheet

This is an image of the cover of the Northwest Training and Testing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement project fact sheet booklet.

Department of the Navy: This is an image of the United States Department of the Navy logo

U.S. Coast Guard: This is an image of the United States Coast Guard logo.

Military Readiness Activities

At-Sea Training

  • Essential for training military personnel in realistic environments in preparation to defend the United
    States and its territories, allies, and interests.

  • Necessary to preserve the peace, respond in crises,
    and win decisively in war.

  • As realistic as possible to provide military services
    with the experience necessary for success and survival
    in the air and on the open ocean.

 

This is an image of an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from a flight deck.
 

At-Sea Testing

  • Includes research, development, acquisition, and evaluation of weapons, systems, manned and unmanned aircraft, surface ships, submarines, unmanned underwater vehicles, and other specialized technologies.

  • U.S. military personnel gain a technological advantage over potential adversaries.

  • Necessary to ensure that technologies perform as designed and expected in the environment where they will be relied upon by the services.

 

This is an image a Sailor guiding an unmanned underwater vehicle into the ocean.

 

Range Modernization and Sustainment

  • Necessary to support military readiness activities; the ranges provide the air, sea, and undersea space necessary for training and testing.

  • Needed to allow for full utilization of new technology, weapons, and systems capabilities.

  • Needed when existing components of the ranges require maintenance or replacement.

 

 

This is an image of Navy and Coast Guard vessels at Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility near Ketchikan, Alaska.

Training and Testing with Sonar and Explosives

Use of Active Sonar

  • Most effective method of detecting, identifying, and tracking underwater threats, including quiet submarines and in-water mines.

  • Sonar proficiency is complex and requires regular, hands-on training in realistic and diverse conditions.

  • Simulators cannot completely replace training and testing in a realistic environment.

  • Weapon systems, aircraft, and vessels are tested in the way they would be used in a real-world situation.

Live-device and full-scale testing is essential for confirming that engineering requirements have been met.

This is an image of a sonar technician.
 

 

Use of Explosives (Live Ordnance)

 

  • Service members are prepared to respond to emergencies and national security threats.

  • Significantly enhances the safety of U.S. forces in combat.

  • Improvement in the readiness of service members and reliability of equipment.

Most training and testing activities use inert or non-explosive ordnance in the Study Area. 

This is an image of a Navy vessel during an explosives training exercise.