SUMTER, S.C. - Pilots at South Carolina's Shaw Air Force Base say expanding airspace training over eastern Georgia will help them win the battles of the future.

The proposal under consideration by the Federal Aviation Administration is drawing complaints from Augusta and nearby community airports who say they fear civilian pilots will lose access to the facilities.

The Air Force, however, maintains such disruptions will be minimal and new training is important to the ever-changing equipment and tactics of warfare.

During World War II, military officials say, American pilots faced unbelievable peril, flying low over enemy targets in hopes of bombing them. Safety became more assured during the first Persian Gulf War with the introduction of laser-guided bombs, allowing for 10 miles' worth of breathing room between fighter jets and the enemy.

The latest military maneuvers expand that breathing room dramatically.

From distances of almost 100 miles, rather than dozens, so-called "smart bombs" launched from military aircraft can hit targets with pinpoint accuracy. Shaw pilots increasingly undertake missions - called DEAD for destruction of enemy air defenses - to learn how to take out the opposition from longer distances.

The aircraft equipment is finally available. So are the weapons for firing. But what Shaw officials say they're now sorely lacking is the proper amount of airspace for training.

It's the reason they cite for the airspace proposal that asks the FAA to allow a larger chunk of airspace in the Georgia-based Bulldog Military Operations Area.

Shaw pilots now fly between 500 and 27,000 feet in the A zone of the Bulldog MOA. The proposal would essentially fill in the lower limits so that pilots could also drop to 500 feet - rather than the previous limit of 3,000 feet - in the B zone, which includes airspace used by Augusta, Swainsboro and Waynesboro.

"We're getting to weapons that we can drop much, much farther," said Lt. Col. Mike Tepley, one of the commanders of Shaw's 20th Fighter Wing. "But in order to do that you have to train to it, and to train to it you need to have more airspace. Now instead of flying right over, you can fly 30 or more miles from the target and practice taking it out through various means."

For years, Shaw's primary training missions - called SEAD for suppression of enemy air defenses - focused on disabling a simulated surface-to-air missile or anti-aircraft artillery site long enough to allow other combat missions to safely enter the airspace and destroy critical targets.

DEAD missions pick up where SEAD left off. The difference can be summed up as the difference between suppressing and destroying any object.

"Now it can't come up within four hours or four days; it's gone," said Lt. Col. Hedgpeth, another commander of the 20th, comparing DEAD to SEAD. "Any time I can destroy something and not have to worry about it tomorrow, it's better."

The recent transition from SEAD to DEAD has stemmed primarily from upgrades to the F-16s' technology.

Advanced targeting pods use infrared sensors to enhance precision in weapons firing like never before while a new attachment on the pilots' helmets makes it possible to see two crucial features at once - the plane's position and weapons, according to Lt. Bryan Cox, Shaw's chief of media relations.

Up in the air

The FAA established the Bulldog MOA in 1984, and Art Byers, Shaw's air space manager, said it was needed. "It's there for a reason - and that's because it has the least impact on commercial and general traffic in the area," Mr. Byers said.

Even though air traffic operations for local airports have increased over the past two decades, he said the Air Force believes military planes have little impact on civilian aircrafts' access to these airports.

The MOA still is in a less intrusive position than it could be, he said, and the expansion proposal is a way to get "more airspace without moving the boundaries of the MOA."

At one point, he said, when military leaders brainstormed about how to secure a larger training area they considered moving the MOA, but they reconsidered.

"You already have airspace that's carved out for the military. You can imagine the chaos if we said, 'OK, we're going to create a brand new area here,'" Lt. Cox said. "You have pilots who are already used to navigating around that area, so it's actually more convenient to stay where we're at."

Others have suggested the missions take place over Fort Gordon to avoid disrupting civilian and commercial pilots, but the Air Force says that's not enough room, what Mr. Byers calls "simply too small for what we're trying to do."

Others have suggested confining missions to airspace right over the water. This is not suitable either, says Mr. Byers, explaining that a significant portion of the training must take place over land.

Not only must pilots learn to strike the target and effectively navigate the F-16s and accompanying machinery; they also must grapple with being able to actually identify the targets, which tend to be hidden in trees or behind other foliage, according to Lt. Col. Hedgpeth.

"An enemy tank wouldn't be out in the ocean - you can see that," he said. "More likely they'd hide in a tree and camouflage it. One of the things during training is they put targets on the ground so they can practice visually locating them."

Of Shaw's total number of training missions, fewer than a quarter fall within the Bulldog MOA.

The rest are performed in South Carolina, where the Sumter installation owns the Poinsett MOA and Gamecock MOA. In addition to trying to expand the Bulldog MOA laterally, Mr. Byers explained that he has proposals in the works for changes in these MOAs as well.

Facing resistance

A decision is still months away, but Shaw began crafting its airspace proposal for the Bulldog MOA almost two years ago. It's been met with concern and trepidation.

One main fear of residents in neighboring areas is that the loud roar of low-flying F-16s will prove disruptive. To this, Mr. Byers says that less than 5 percent of military training missions dip down to 500 feet, and none will occur at night. For residents still troubled by noise, he said Shaw officials can do what they've done in other MOAs -- designate that particular farm or property as a no-fly zone.

"If someone on the ground has a problem with the noise, we can put a circle around there and tell our pilots not to fly there," he said. "It's easy for us to do."

As for gripes from local airports, such as Augusta Regional, that the airspace initiative would restrict access to their facilities, Lt. Col. Hedgpeth says he is more than willing to establish written procedures so that civilian aircraft can be cleared to land and take off as needed.

"We're not trying to grab all the airspace," he said. "We want to establish a happy medium where we're able to meet our needs while meeting the needs of other customers."

Augusta Airport Director Buster Boshears says if that's true, it might solve his doubts about the proposal.

"My concern is that I don't want their use of the airspace to have an impact on our airport operations. So as long as their proposal does that, it takes care of our issues," he said.

Reach Dena Levitz at (706) 823-3339 or dena.levitz@augustachronicle.com.