NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE -- Feeling a little like a target these evenings?

The drone of Air Force jets and the clatter of a Navy helicopter over the Pahrump Valley are due to a close support training exercise focusing on urban areas, according to an air base spokesman.

The exercise, said Maj. Sean Lowe, a 17th Weapons School instructor, in a prepared statement May 17, is designed to practice aerial attacks on targets that are in close proximity to friendly troops.

All munitions will be simulated, the base announced.

"Most training is conducted in rural locations with targets out in the open on the Nevada Test and Training Range," Lowe said, "but in the current combat situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan, our troops on the ground need support in both urban and rural environments. Pahrump provides an ideal setting for urban close air support training."

All jet aircraft are flying at altitudes no lower than 9,000 above ground level at 400-500 mph; a helicopter from the Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va., is being flown as low as 500 feet above ground level at from 100 to 120 mph.

The jets are from Lowe's weapons squadron as well as the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, both based here.

Lowe said the exercise "is some of the best training" the officers and men can receive in preparation for the real thing.

Among those trained are personnel who provide final clearance before aircraft are allowed expend their munitions during close-support operations.

Another such exercise is expected to be held in October, the base said.