Announcements

Notice of Availability

Joint Flight Campaign Draft Second Supplemental
Environmental Assessment/Overseas Environmental Assessment

The United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) is assisting the Department of the Navy Strategic Systems Programs and the United States Army Portfolio Acquisition Executives Fires office, the Action Proponents, in environmental compliance for proposed changes to the Joint Flight Campaign (JFC) Flight Tests program. The Action Proponents have prepared a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) / Overseas Environmental Assessment (OEA) to analyze potential environmental impacts from conducting proposed JFC flight test activities. The Supplemental EA/OEA provides supplemental analysis for JFC flight test activities not included in the JFC EA/OEA completed in 2022 or in the first JFC Supplemental EA/OEA completed in 2024. USASMDC and the Action Proponents announce the availability of the Draft Supplemental EA/OEA and welcome your review and substantive comments on the Draft Supplemental EA/OEA.

As evaluated in the JFC EA/OEA and first Supplemental EA/OEA, JFC flight testing would consist of up to six flight test launches per year at various land-based launch locations conducted over a 10-year period between 2022 and 2032. All flight tests would involve missile flight tests launched from existing land-based launch facilities, flight of the missile over open ocean areas, and terminal impact at ocean target sites. Flight testing would also involve pre-flight test activities, flight test-related support activities, and post-flight test activities.

Since completion of the JFC Flight Test EA/OEA and first Supplemental EA/OEA, the Action Proponents (Navy and Army) determined that additional launch sites should be considered as alternatives for JFC flight tests to meet the purpose and need of the JFC Action. The Proposed Action evaluated in the Supplemental EA/OEA takes the existing JFC program, as analyzed in the 2022 and 2024 EA/OEA documents, as a baseline and considers only the addition of three new potential launch sites in the Pacific (at Wake Island, Meck Islet in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and San Nicolas Island in California), and the use of floating target rafts in broad ocean areas of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Importantly, the Proposed Action does not increase the number of approved flight tests over the previously-analyzed six launches per year between 2022 and 2032.

The Draft Supplemental EA/OEA evaluates the potential impacts to the human and natural environment from implementing the proposed JFC flight test action changes (i.e., the Proposed Action). The No Action Alternative is also evaluated to serve as a baseline from which to analyze the effects of the Proposed Action. Supported by the information and environmental analysis presented in the Supplemental EA/OEA, the Action Proponents will decide whether to implement the proposed changes to the JFC flight test program or to select the No Action Alternative. The Draft Supplemental EA/OEA evaluates several environmental/resource categories within the affected environment that potentially could be impacted to provide decision makers with sufficient information to plan and make informed decisions on the proposed additions to the JFC program. Based on analyses in the Draft Supplemental EA/OEA, the Action Proponents have determined that the activities associated with the Proposed Action would not result in significant impacts to the human and natural environment and plan to draft a Finding of No Significant Impact / Finding of No Significant Harm (FONSI/FONSH).

To review the Draft Supplemental EA/OEA and for additional information pertaining to the proposed JFC Action, please visit the Current Projects page of the Navy’s NEPA Projects website at https://www.nepa.navy.mil/JFCSecondSupplementalEA. The Draft Supplemental EA/OEA is also available at the following public libraries: