Pacific Missile Range Facility
| Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Near Kekaha, Hawaii in the United States | |||||||
Aerial view of the airfield at PMRF Barking Sands | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Test & training range and airfield | ||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | US Navy | ||||||
| Controlled by | Navy Region Hawaii | ||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Coordinates | 22°01′22″N 159°47′06″W / 22.02278°N 159.78500°W | ||||||
| Area | 42,000 square miles (110,000 km2) (controlled airspace) 1,100 square miles (2,800 km2) (underwater range) | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1921 (for Kekaha Sugar Company) | ||||||
| In use |
| ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Current commander | Captain Timothy H. Young | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: BKH, ICAO: PHBK, FAA LID: BKH, WMO: 911620 | ||||||
| Elevation | 5.4 metres (18 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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| Source: Federal Aviation Administration | |||||||
The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands (IATA: BKH, ICAO: PHBK, FAA LID: BKH) is a U.S. naval facility and airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the central business district of Kekaha, in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States.
PMRF is the world's largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and training missile range. The US military and its contractors favor its relative isolation, ideal year-round tropical climate and encroachment-free environment (see PMRF Agriculture Preservation Initiative below). It is the only range in the world where submarines, surface ships, aircraft and space vehicles can operate and be tracked simultaneously. There are over 1,100 square miles (2,800 km2) of instrumented underwater range and over 42,000 square miles (109,000 km2) of controlled airspace. The base itself covers roughly 2,385 acres (965 ha).
The base includes a 6,000-foot (1,800 m) runway with operations and maintenance facilities. It has roughly 70 housing units and various recreational facilities for those who can access the base.
The base has support facilities at Port Allen, Makaha Ridge, and Koke'e State Park. The base also uses a portion of the nearby island of Niihau for a remotely operated APS-134 surveillance radar, an 1,100-acre (450 ha) Test Vehicle Recovery Site, the Perch Electronic Warfare site, multiple EW Portable Simulator sites, and a Helicopter Terrain Flight training course.