Eglin Air Force Base (IATA: VPS, ICAO: KVPS, FAA LID: VPS) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) systems.
A bombing range, sometimes referred to as an air weapons range (AWR), is a remote military facility used by combat aircraft for air-to-ground weapons training, as well as for the research, development, testing, and evaluation of aerial ordnance. These ranges support precision targeting with high-explosive aerial bombs, precision-guided munitions, rockets, missiles, and other aircraft-delivered weapons, in contrast to field firing ranges used by infantry and armored units.
To minimise environmental impact and infrastructure damage, various inert "practice bombs" are extensively used to simulate explosive ordnance during precision targeting exercises. In addition, solid target practice (TP) ammunition is employed during strafing runs, offering ballistic realism without explosive payloads, unlike high-explosive (HE) or armour-piercing (AP) variants which contain energetic fillers or penetrators designed for destructive effect.