Defence facilities

South Australia’s defence future is built on a strong base. The state already has a large and varied contingent of defence facilities.

RAAF BASE EDINBURGH 

RAAF Base Edinburgh, located in Adelaide’s north, is home to the Aerospace Operational Support Group and the 92 Wing Command which operates the AP-3C Orions, the nation's only long-range maritime patrol aircraft, and other surveillance and reconnaissance facilities. The base has recently undergone the most significant reconstruction of any military establishment across Australia with about $750 million spent on upgrading Air Force facilities and building new infrastructure to support the 7RAR Battle Group.

The precinct has also been proposed as the future home of the multi-mission unmanned aerial system (Air 7000) and the Integrated Ground Environment, which makes up the core of Australia’s future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.

DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANISATION EDINBURGH

The DSTO facility in Edinburgh is the largest defence electronics research and development centre in the southern hemisphere and is home to around 1,200 staff.

It provides scientific support to the Australian Defence Force for major defence procurement projects. It has strengths in the areas of electronics, communications and software research, modelling and analysis for maritime, land and air environments.

AIR WARFARE DESTROYER SYSTEMS CENTRE

The AWD Systems Centre is the hub of the AWD project accommodating AWD Alliance partners the Defence Materiel Organisation, shipbuilder ASC, Hobart Class Combat System Systems Engineer Raytheon Australia and capability partners Navantia, the United States Navy and Lockheed Martin Corporation. The Alliance is managing the design, schedule, budgets and major procurements of the AWD project.

CULTANA TRAINING AREA

The Cultana Training Area is located between Port Augusta and Whyalla on the northwest coast of South Australia. It is a major training facility used year round by Army for manoeuvre and weapons training.

Planning is underway to significantly expand the training area to accommodate combined arms training for large mechanised formations, joint live firing exercises and to manoeuvre the Abrams tanks as well as other recently acquired Army assets.

WOOMERA TEST RANGE

Located around 500 kilometres northwest of Adelaide, the Woomera Test Range is the largest land-based range in the world, covering 127,000 square kilometres.

Woomera has been used as an international testing ground for missiles and space related activities since the end of World War II because of its unique attributes. The range hosts a wide spectrum of ground, air and space activities for Australian and international government and commercial organisations.

Defence has recently committed to a major defence modernisation program for Woomera.

PORT WAKEFIELD PROOF AND EXPERIMENTAL ESTABLISHMENT

The Port Wakefield Proof and Experimental Establishment conducts weapons research and testing for the Australian Army and Navy.

It is the only range in Australia where projectiles can be fired into a coastal area and, because of coastal tides, be retrieved relatively undamaged for assessment and review.