Pilots planning on overflying Kansas this summer, specifically through the Salina area and the nearby Smoky Hill Air National Guard Weapons Range, would do well to attend the pilot safety briefing about the range to be held on Thursday, June 6, at the Salina Airport Authority’s Hangar 600 at 4:30 p.m. Representatives from the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Weapons Range are due to present an update on the range’s activities.

Located 10 miles west of Salina, a regular refueling stop for U.S. transcontinental flights, the 51-square-mile Smoky Hill Weapons Range is the largest and busiest Air National Guard bombing range in the nation, with more than 100 tactical targets and an electronic warfare range. The complex also provides space for military organizations to train jointly in a realistic live-weapons environment in the air and on the ground.

Smoky Hill, contained within an FAA-sanctioned Military Operational Area, operates both piloted and unmanned aircraft in training exercises.