Avon Park Air Force Range
| Avon Park Air Force Range MacDill Air Force Base Auxiliary Field  |
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| previously Avon Park Army Air Field Avon Park Air Force Base |
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| Part of Air Combat Command (ACC) | |
| Located near Avon Park, Florida | |
2006 USGS airphoto
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 Avon Park AFR
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| Coordinates | 27°39′04.28″N 081°20′36.47″W / 27.6511889°N 81.3434639°WCoordinates: 27°39′04.28″N 081°20′36.47″W / 27.6511889°N 81.3434639°W |
| Type | Air Force Bombing Range |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1941-present |
The Avon Park Air Force Range (APAFR), which includes MacDill Air Force Base Auxiliary Field (ICAO: KAGR, FAA LID: AGR), is a United States Air Force bombing range and air-ground training complex in the U.S. state of Florida located in Polk and Highlands Counties approximately 65 miles east of Tampa and east of the city of Avon Park.
Avon Park Air Force Range (APAFR) consists of approximately 106,000 acres which are primarily used for military air-to-ground training operations. Overlying this acreage is an area of restricted airspace designated R-2901. It is one of only a few active Air Force bombing ranges that are located on the eastern coast of the United States. About 82,000 acres are open to the public for hunting, fishing and recreation when military missions allow, typically on the weekends. In the wake of heightened security measures following worldwide terrorist attacks, the military usually uses the range Monday through Friday.
APAFR serves as the primary air-to-ground training range for the 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, and an alternate range for the 23rd Wing's 23rd Fighter Group at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. APAFR is also an important range for military air-to-ground operations originating from nearby Patrick AFB and MacDill AFB, which routinely host numerous squadron/unit level deployments from Active and Reserve USAF, USN, USMC and U.S. Army units, to include Army National Guard and Air National Guard, from across the country to practice air-to-ground operations. Training and readiness requirements in low level flights, night vision training, and the firing/release of various of ordnance and weaponry across the full spectrum of Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Army assets, can all be readily employed on the APAFR.
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