RAAF Woomera Test Range
| RAAF Woomera Range Complex | |
|---|---|
| near Woomera, South Australia in Australia | |
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Map of South Australia showing the land area covered by the RAAF Woomera Range Complex
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| Coordinates | 30°57′19″S 136°31′56″E / 30.9553°S 136.5322°ECoordinates: 30°57′19″S 136°31′56″E / 30.9553°S 136.5322°E |
| Type | |
| Area | 122,188 square kilometres (47,177 sq mi) |
| Site information | |
| Owner |
Government of South Australia under a crown lease to the Department of Defence |
| Operator |  Royal Australian Air Force |
| Open to the public |
Prohibited access |
| Status | Active |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1946 – present |
| Test information | |
| Nuclear tests | 9 (See British nuclear tests at Maralinga and Operation Totem) |
| Other tests | Missiles, aircraft weapons, drone aircraft, rockets |
The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia; approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a division of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The complex includes both the land area of 122,188 square kilometres (47,177 sq mi) and the airspace that is restricted and controlled by the RAAF for safety and security reasons. The WRC is a highly specialised ADF test and evaluation capability operated by the RAAF for the purposes of testing war material.
The word woomera is an Australian indigenous word of the Dharug language of the Eora people of the Sydney basin; a woomera is a wooden spear-throwing device.Woomera was adopted initially as an appropriate name for the settlement of Woomera, that is also called Woomera Village; located within the complex.
The complex has been variously known as the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment and then the Woomera Rocket Range; the RAAF Woomera Test Range and in 2013, the facility was reorganised and renamed to the RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC). The ground area of the WRC is defined by the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) and includes the Nurrungar Test Area (NTA); with a land area of 122,188 square kilometres (47,177 sq mi), the WPA is described by the RAAF as the largest land-based test range in the western world. The Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office (WPACO) coordinates daily operation of the complex which comprises a mix of South Australian crown land and is covered by pastoral leases and mining tenements granted by the Government of South Australia. The Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board monitors the operations of the WPA and the WPACO. The airspace above the WPA is called the Woomera Restricted Airspace (WRX) and is controlled by the RAAF for safety and security reasons during the conduct of some activities on the complex together with the support of Airservices Australia.
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