Big Sky Autonomous Systems Range

Lobo Institute’s primary training and testing venue — 6,000 acres of high-altitude Montana terrain for advanced UAS, full-spectrum live fire, mobility, and full mission profile training.

Overview

The Big Sky Autonomous Systems Range (BSASR) is the Lobo Institute’s primary training and testing facility for U.S. and allied military, federal, and partner organizations. Operated under the Lobo Tactical division, BSASR is a 6,000-acre, fully fenced complex purpose-built for advanced unmanned aerial systems operations, full-spectrum live fire, mounted and dismounted mobility, and full mission profile exercises grounded in the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures from active conflict zones.

The range pairs realistic terrain with the regulatory, infrastructure, and instructor depth required to train against the operational realities of today’s and tomorrow’s battlefields — and it does so in a remote, controlled environment where units can push hard while keeping risk to acceptable levels.

Location and Airspace

BSASR sits near Sheridan, Montana, approximately 90 minutes from Bozeman and roughly 12 miles northwest of Ennis Big Sky Airport (KEKS). The range complex is fully fenced 360 degrees, lies at an average elevation of approximately 6,500 feet above sea level, and operates beneath uncontrolled Class G airspace — well-suited for UAS testing and integrated air operations without the access friction common to controlled airspace.

The terrain is a mix of sheer cliffs, open fields, rugged gullies, and wooded zones, providing the variety required for realistic field training across reconnaissance, mobility, marksmanship, and air-ground integration. Sheridan offers a quiet operating footprint for mission-specific and high-fidelity exercises. Note: regional fire season (July–September) may limit access to certain modules in any given year.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Capabilities

BSASR is configured for advanced sUAS operations and testing, including supporting flight profiles that are difficult or impossible to execute on conventional civilian ranges:

  • Operations up to 1,000 feet AGL
  • Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight along surveyed corridors
  • Night operations
  • High-speed and high-performance flight
  • Operations over people and from moving vehicles, where authorized
  • Integrated UAS / firearms / mobility full mission profiles

These profiles are supported by a portfolio of standing FAA Part 107 waivers held by Lobo Tactical’s certified remote pilots, allowing customers to fly programs that would otherwise require months of regulatory engagement to stand up.

Live-Fire Ranges

BSASR supports fundamental and advanced shooting from pistol through .50 caliber, with range elements built around the realities of modern combat marksmanship rather than static square-range routine:

  • Pistol ranges
  • Flat rifle ranges
  • Multiple-wind, long-distance, cross-canyon sniper ranges
  • High-angle and long-range sniper positions
  • Thermal and low-light targeting ranges
  • Aerial-platform gunnery range

The range is run by experienced cadre with a U.S. National Team marksmanship and tactical-instruction background, and live-fire problems are routinely integrated into broader full-mission-profile training.

Air Operations

BSASR has a long history of supporting fixed- and rotary-wing air operations. Surveyed heavy drop zones, personnel drop zones, and helicopter landing zones are available across the complex, and the range’s drop-zone surveys are current in the U.S. Special Operations Command database (most recent surveys circa 2023). Air-ground integration training — including HALO insertions, rotary-wing iterative training, and aerial-platform gunnery — is a routine part of customer programs at the range.

Mobility and Specialized Range Elements

The range is built to train units the way they will fight — across vehicles, animals, weather, and terrain:

  • Off-road mobility venue for wheeled and tracked tactical vehicles
  • Winter mobility venue supporting both mechanized (snowmobile) and non-mechanized (ski / snowshoe) movement
  • Pack-animal integration for non-mechanized terrain mobility
  • Surveyed drop zones and helicopter LZs for personnel and equipment
  • Classroom and after-action facilities for UAS, firearms, and mobility instruction, paired with hands-on field training

Cadre

Training at BSASR is led by an instructor team with deep operational, marksmanship, mountain-guide, and medical experience:

  • Eric Oehlerich — Commander (ret), U.S. Navy SEAL; over a decade in JSOC and SOCOM. Lobo Institute Co-Founder and Operations Manager.
  • Scott Canino — Sergeant Major (ret), U.S. Army Special Operations; 20+ years in SOCOM and JSOC.
  • Michael “Mick” Mulroy — SES4 (ret), CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer; former U.S. Marine; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. Lobo Institute Co-Founder.
  • Bill Wood — former U.S. National Team marksman, range manager (BSASR), and tactical civilian instructor.
  • Dr. Alan Oram — current International Federation of Mountain Guide Association (IFMGA) guide and registered Emergency Room Medical Doctor.

Historical Use

BSASR — under both its current name and its prior designation as the Granite Creek Range Complex — has supported elite U.S. military and government training continuously for more than a decade:

  • 2011–Present — Long-range shooting and tactical mobility programs for Naval Special Warfare and Air Force Special Operations Command units.
  • 2017 & 2019 — Test site for U.S. Special Operations Command cold-weather clothing systems.
  • 2012–2020 — Annual Granite Creek Sniper Challenge, a nationally recognized competition with 100–120 shooters per year.
  • 2020–2025 — Host venue for the Tough Stump Tech Rodeo, showcasing applied tactical technology.
  • 2021–2025 — Multiple Full Mission Profile exercises for JSOC squadrons, integrating HALO insertion, rotary-wing iterative training, complex live-fire problems, clandestine intelligence injects, and full-spectrum role-players.

Custom Programs

BSASR programs are built to the customer’s mission, not pulled off a catalog. The Lobo Tactical team designs each engagement against the unit’s training objective, threat picture, and operator experience level — and adjusts in real time as weather, snowpack, and mission realities shift on the range. Modular add-ons include UAS / mounted-ops integration, communications-suite training, winter casualty-extraction blocks, and tailored Full Mission Profiles.

Range Manager and Inquiries

For range access, training inquiries, or to schedule a site visit: