2022-22783

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: • the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document • the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to • the agency docket number / agency internal file number • the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration • 14 CFR Part 73 • [Docket No. FAA-2021-0650; Airspace Docket No. 21-AWP-11] • RIN 2120-AA66 AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This action establishes restricted area R-2511 in the vicinity of Trona, CA in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), China Lake, CA. The restricted area is necessary to segregate the testing and evaluation of hazardous weapons systems, and other unproven aviation platforms in the early development cycle from non-participating aircraft. DATES: Effective date 0901 UTC, December 29, 2022. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Gallant, Rules and Regulations Group, Office of Policy, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-8783. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority for This Rulemaking The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the agency's authority. This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that section, the FAA is charged with prescribing regulations to assign the use of the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace. This regulation is within the scope of that authority as it establishes restricted area airspace in the vicinity of Trona, CA, to contain activities deemed hazardous to non-participating aircraft. History The FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for Docket No. FAA-2021-0650 in the Federal Register (86 FR 57611; October 18, 2021) proposing to establish restricted area R-2511 in the vicinity of Trona, CA, to support testing and training activities by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), China Lake, CA. R-2511 is needed to provide a connection between restricted areas R-2505 and R-2524 to segregate the testing and evaluation of hazardous weapons systems, and other unproven aviation platforms in the early development cycle from non-participating aircraft. NAWCWD will use R-2511 to contain free flight weapons systems as they transit from launch areas within R-2505 to target areas within R-2524, and/or from launch areas within R-2524 to target areas within R-2505. This airspace, situated between restricted areas R-2505 and R-2524, has been variously referred to as: Trona Pass, Trona Corridor, or Trona Gap. Since 1995, the containment of military hazardous weapons system activities transiting the airspace between R-2505 and R-2524 was accomplished through the use of a controlled firing area (CFA) located in that airspace between R-2505 and R-2524. The FAA has determined that a CFA is not the appropriate type of special use airspace (SUA) for this activity because CFAs are not depicted on aeronautical charts, and because hazardous activity in a CFA must be immediately suspended upon observation or notification that a non-participating aircraft is approaching the area. Based on these criteria, a CFA is not practical for accommodating NAWCWD's mission requirements. A restricted area is the appropriate type of SUA to safely segregate hazardous activities from non-participating aircraft operating in this area. Restricted areas are depicted on aeronaut…

Fonte: Federal Register (federalregister.gov). Texto original em inglês. Conteúdo sanitizado por segurança.