Bombing incident causes fire in Ocala National Forest

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Wildcats” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 is shown aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in the Red Sea. [Official U.S. Navy photo]

A Navy training exercise went awry on Wednesday when an F-18 dropped a live bomb outside of the Pinecastle Bomb Range, starting a wildfire in the Ocala National Forest.

During the authorized bombing schedule on Feb. 12, a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet dropped a live bomb intended to hit its target at the Pinecastle Range Complex instead was dropped about 6 miles to the north.

The explosive started a forest fire that spread about 20 acres before being contained by the U.S. Forest Service Firefighters.

The fighter jet was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron ONE THREE ONE (VFA-131) out of the Naval Air Station in Oceana, Virginia, according to Naval Air Station Jacksonville spokesperson Matthew Riggs.

“No personnel were injured in the fire. The Navy has not received any reports of private or personal property damage,” wrote Riggs.

An investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the incident.

The Navy was scheduled to conduct both live and inert bomb training at the range from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10-12 and from 8:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 and 14.

Next week, live and inert bombings will take place from 8:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 18-20.

Bomb testing happens relatively frequently at this site, which is the only place on the East Coast of the United States where the Navy trains with live bombs.

Ocala has played a pivotal role in naval operations since the early 1940s, when the War Department acquired more than 40,500 acres of the forest for what was then called the Lake Bryant Bombing and Gunnery Range, according to NAS Jacksonville.

Through World War II, the U.S. Army Air Force Command used this range, as part of the Pinecastle Army Field and Orlando Army Air Base, for rocket missions, bombing practice, ground gunnery and firefighting.

In 1951, the Navy acquired a portion of the range, which has continuously been in operation ever since to help train military personnel.

Today, this unique portion of the Ocala National Forest is used as a training location so military pilots can get real-life training in a realistic environment.

“The Pinecastle Range is the only U.S. East Coast training facility authorized for the release of explosive air-to-surface ordnance, including close air support, an essential factor in air warfare training,” according to NAS Jacksonville.

Synthetic training, such as the use of simulators, is commonly used within the Navy for training. The Ocala National Forest offers a kind of training that cannot be simulated, however, and is instrumental for pilots who specialize in air strikes, according to NAS Jacksonville.