Florida’s Gulf Test Range

There is no other testing/training range like Florida’s Gulf Range.

If all of Florida’s testing and training infrastructure are combined, the Department of Defense can undertake actions like fully test hypersonic weapons with long-ranges and simultaneously conduct exercises with undersea, sea, air, space and cyber assets.

Preserving Florida’s range assets are critical to Florida and the U.S. military. There are multiple threats to the range complex like development encroachment, oil exploration and other energy producing technologies, as well as, not investing in test facility infrastructure.  The Office of Military and Defense along with its associated Defense Support Task Force are advocates for the Gulf Range and provide a number of resources below, which explain its value.

It’s Not Just Airspace, the Gulf Range is a Multi-Domain Complex

The facilities that can be included in the Gulf Training Range Include:

• Land Ranges
  • Avon Park Air Force Range
  • Navy Pinecastle Range Complex
  • Camp Blanding Joint Training Center
• Air and Space Ranges
  • Eastern Range Complex
  • Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range
  • Jacksonville Range Complex
• Surface and Subsurface Ranges
  • Bugg Spring Undersea Warfare Center
  • Jacksonville Shallow Water Training Range
  • Panama City Operations Area
  • South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility
  • Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations Key West
• Cyber Ranges
  • National Cyber Range Complex

The Gulf Range’s Geography is an Important Asset Now and Into the Future

As the U.S. military has shifted its focus from combating terrorist organizations to fighting peer or near peer countries, the testing and training requirements have also shifted. Florida’s geography can serve as a realistic simulation for Southeast Asia, which will help the U.S. military prepare for potential adversaries into the foreseeable future.

Below is a wealth of information focused on the Gulf Range. Click on the titles below to find out additional information on this national asset.

Archived Documents (Pre-August 2023)

Reports and Additional Background

• Florida Range Report by The Roosevelt Group – Spring 2022
• Raising Awareness of Florida’s Military Ranges – Spring 2022
• From the Sea Floor to Outer Space – Spring 2022
• Gulf Range Whitepaper
• Oceana’s Paper Congress: Protect Military Readiness and Florida’s Coast from Offshore Drilling in the National Defense Authorization Act – May 2020
• Eglin Air Force Base Gulf Test and Training Range Brochure – March 2020
• Oceana’s Paper on Protecting Florida’s Gulf Coast from Offshore Drilling Preserves Military Readiness – October 2019
• Senators Scott and Rubio’s Letter to Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior David Berhnardt – March 2019
• DoD’s Report on Preserving Military Readiness in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico – May 2018
• DoD’s Report to Congress on 2017 Sustainable Ranges – February 2017
• Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006
• Congressional Research Service’s Report on the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA): Background, Status and Issues – January 2020
• Congressional Research Service’s Report on the Five-Year Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019-2024: Status and Issues in Brief – August 2019
• Congressional Budget Office’s Report on the Price Tag for Drilling in the Eastern Gulf: $400 Million – July 2019
• Bay Defense Alliance’s Report on the Economic Impact of Florida’s Military Presence, Gulf of Mexico and the Military Mission Line – March 2010
• Securing America’s Future Energy’s Issue Brief on Eastern Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Exploration and Military Readiness – January 2010
• Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range Maximization Study – July 2020

Groups Supporting Gulf Range Protection

• Northwest Florida Sentinel Landscape
• Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape