PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Federal officials are completing the final work required on an aerial training area over the Northern Plains before military bombers can begin roaring overhead.
The U.S. Air Force could begin using parts of the expanded Powder River Training Complex over the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming in September.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek says expanded training can't begin until the Federal Aviation Administration publishes the expansion in its aeronautical maps. The full airspace won't be open until an aircraft recall communications system is installed.
The FAA approved the plan last month to roughly quadruple the airspace to span across nearly 35,000 square miles.
It will be used by B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.