RAAF Woomera Range Complex

The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility located in South Australia, approximately 450 km (280 mi) north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The complex has a land area of 122,188 km2 (47,177 sq mi), roughly the size of North Korea or Pennsylvania. The airspace above the area is restricted and controlled by the RAAF for safety and security. The WRC is a highly specialised ADF test and evaluation site operated by the RAAF for the purposes of testing defence materiel. The complex has been variously known as the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment, the Woomera Rocket Range, and the RAAF Woomera Test Range, before being reorganised and renamed as the RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) in 2013. 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 km2 (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 day-to-day operations of the complex, which comprises a mix of South Australian crown land 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 designated as 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. The complex also contains RAAF Base Woomera, or the RAAF Woomera Airfield, a dual-runway military airfield located 3 nmi (5.6...