| RAAF Woomera Test Range | |
|---|---|
A sign on the Stuart Highway indicating that vehicles are entering the Woomera test range, and are to stay on the road |
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| Type | Aerospace (military/civil) |
| Location | near Woomera in Australia |
| Operator | Royal Australian Air Force's Aerospace Operational Support Group |
| Status | Active |
| In use | 1946-1980 1999-present |
| Testing | |
| Nuclear tests |
See British nuclear tests at Maralinga |
| Miscellaneous tests |
Missiles, aircraft weapons, drone aircraft, rockets |
Area currently covered by the Woomera test range |
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The RAAF Woomera Test Range (previously known as the Woomera Test Facility, the Woomera Rocket Range, and the Long Range Weapons Establishment, Woomera) is a weapons testing range operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Aerospace Operational Support Group.[1][2][3] The facility is located in South Australia, 500 kilometres (310 mi) north-west of Adelaide, and is the largest land-based weapons test facility in the world.[3] The testing facilities are supported by the town of Woomera, South Australia.[3] The testing range is identified as off-limits by the Woomera Prohibited Area and the Woomera Restricted Airspace.
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Germany's use of V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets during World War II prompted the British to establish their own rocket testing program.[4] However, the density of population in the United Kingdom made testing risky, so the British turned to Australia, asking for a site with a long testing corridor containing minimal population.[5] The two nations joined in the Australian-Anglo Joint Project, a Commonwealth weapons design and test program established in 1946.[1] Surveying of sites for the test range and its supporting township were carried out by Len Beadell during 1947 in South Australia's Far North.[6][1] Australia was responsible for providing the testing facilities, support personnel, and most of the funding, while the United Kingdom supplied most of the scientific equipment and personnel, and in addition to its financial contribution, paid for the weapons being used.[1] The name of the facility, and the supporting town of Woomera, came from the Aboriginal spear-throwing device.[7] At its peak, the range had an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi), most of which was in South Australia, but included a satellite range in north-west Western Australia, but was later scaled back to a total area of 127,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi); still the largest land-based weapons test range in the world.[3][7]
Facilities at Salisbury, South Australia supported the design and testing of many weapons trialled at Woomera.[1] Weapons designed by the Joint Project and tested at Woomera include the Sea Wolf, Rapier, Sea Dart, and Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles, the Blue Steel nuclear stand-off missile, the Malkara anti-tank missile, the Ikara anti-submarine missile, and the GAF Jindivik drone aircraft.[1] Missile testing commenced in 1949.[7] The Joint Project ran until 1980; the winding back of the Blue Streak ballistic missile project during the 1960s and the lack of British interest in testing Australian-designed weapons led the British to withdraw from the program.[1]
After the cancellation of the Joint Project, the range was effectively abandoned by the Australian government, although the land remained in government hands.[3] The town of Woomera, which was originally established to support the testing facilities, instead turned to supporting the nearby joint Australia-United States ground station for space-based surveillance, Nurrungar.[1][3] The surveillance facility closed in 1999, around the same time the Defence Science and Technology Organisation and the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit identified the old testing range's potential, particularly as it was one of the few sites in the world where over-the-horizon weapons testing was feasible.[3] The range is currently used for Australian Defence Force trials of missiles and aircraft weapons, and access is leased to foreign militaries and private companies for their own testing of weapons systems, rockets, and drone aircraft.[1][3][8] As of the end of 2009, there were up to ten different tests occurring on the range daily, and bookings for access had been made as far in advance as 2023.[8] The increase in interest from other parties prompted the Australian government to mark $500 million in funding for Woomera in May 2009, to update tracking systems and other infrastructure.[8]
In June 2010, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa landed on the Woomera test range after visiting the asteroid 25143 Itokawa.[9]
The Woomera range has also been used for rocketry.[1] During the 1950s, the Black Knight rocket (as a component of Blue Streak) was tested at the range.[1] The first rocket launch occurred in 1957, and continued until the last satellite launch in 1981.[7] Although initially allowed to lapse after the cancellation of the Joint Project, the use of the range for rocket research has increased.[1] In 2002, the University of Queensland launched a rocket carrying the HyShot engine: the first successful flight of a hypersonic scramjet engine.[1] After NASA's facilities at Cape Canaveral, Woomera has the highest quantity and rate of rocket launches in the world.[8]