RAAF Base Edinburgh

RAAF Base Edinburgh
IATA: none – ICAO: YPED
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	RAAF
Location	Edinburgh, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia
Occupants	7 RAR 1 CSSB 1RSU 453SQN DET EDN HQ92WG 10SQN 11SQN 292SQN 462SQN 87SQN 1AFDS 24SQN HQAOSG HQARDU HQWTR AVMED 9CE
Elevation AMSL	67 ft / 20 m
Coordinates	34°42′09″S 138°37′15″E / 34.70250°S 138.62083°E / -34.70250; 138.62083Coordinates: 34°42′09″S 138°37′15″E / 34.70250°S 138.62083°E / -34.70250; 138.62083
Map
YPED Location in South Australia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 1,962 6,437 Grass 18/36 2,560 8,399 Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

Royal Australian Air Force Base Edinburgh (ICAO: YPED) is located in Edinburgh, 25 km (16 mi) north of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia.

It is primarily home to No 92 Wing and their Lockheed AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft that conduct surveillance operations throughout Australia's airspace. However, after an extensive building program over the course of 2010-2011, it has also become the home of 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and some smaller units. This has pushed the daily working population of RAAF Base Edinburgh beyond 4,500 from 6am-6pm.

Aerospace Operational Support Group (AOSG) conducts research and development on aircraft and weapons through the flight test squadron, ARDU, and conducts a wide range of defence systems test and evaluation activities at the Woomera Test Range (WTR), controlled through Headquarters Woomera Test Range (HQWTR), a wing-level agency unit within AOSG.

RAAF Base Edinburgh is also home to No. 87 Squadron, Air Force Intelligence.

History

RAAF Edinburgh was constructed in 1955 as a support base for weapons development at the joint UK-Australian Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) at Woomera. This support had previously been temporarily based at Mallala.^[2] The base was located alongside the wartime Salisbury Explosives factory,^[3] in open fields between the then country villages of Salisbury (to the south) and Smithfield (to the north). At about the same time, the satellite town of Elizabeth was being established (to the east).

Support for WRE testing activities had greatly reduced by the late 1960s. Edinburgh's major role changed in 1977 when No. 10 Reconnaissance Squadron was relocated to South Australia from RAAF Base Townsville, which had been the centre of Australia's maritime reconnaissance operations since the Second World War. RAAF Base Edinburgh has since been home to the RAAF's Maritime Patrol Group, as well as No 1 Recruit Training Unit, the Institute of Aviation Medicine (AVMED) and the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU).^[4]

Originally, RAAF Edinburgh and the DSTO were located in Salisbury, (subsequently the suburb of Salisbury - Postcode 5108), in the City of Salisbury. In 1997, the Department of Defence decided to rationalise the then "DSTO Salisbury" site and sell off about 70% of the site, and surrounding "Defence-owned" Crown land, to form the "Edinburgh Parks" industrial estate. The suburb of Salisbury was split in two, with the part containing the RAAF Base and DSTO renamed "Edinburgh" (after the RAAF Base). The new suburb was assigned the Postcode 5111.

RAAF Units

The main aircraft type operating from Edinburgh is the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. However, the base has recently (2006–2011) undergone a massive upgrade to accommodate 7RAR and supporting army units.

Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU)

The Aircraft Research and Development Unit, first established in 1944, is now a squadron of AOSG's Development and Test Wing (DTWG). Based at RAAF Edinburgh, ARDU provides specialist Australian Defence Force aerospace testing and evaluation of new weapons and aircraft into the RAAF and ADF arsenal.

Woomera Test Range (WTR)

The WTR is the Western world's largest defence systems test range and is an Australian icon. The range covers 127,000 km² (49,000 sq mi) (roughly the size of England or the US State of Florida). It is controlled by HQWTR located at RAAF Edinburgh, but is supported directly from Woomera Village. The range is approximately 460 km (290 mi) north-west of Adelaide.

7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

See also

• Structure of the RAAF
• Australian Defence Basketball Association
• List of airports in South Australia

References

External links

• RAAF Edinburgh website

Royal Australian Air Force bases
Current bases	RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Station Bundaberg RAAF Station Camden RAAF Curtin RAAF Base Darwin RAAF Base East Sale RAAF Base Edinburgh RAAF Gingin RAAF Base Glenbrook RAAF Learmonth RAAF Base Pearce RAAF Base Richmond RAAF Scherger RAAF Base Tindal RAAF Base Townsville RAAF Base Wagga RAAF Williams RAAF Base Williamtown RAAF Woomera Airfield
Former bases	RAAF Base Albion Park RAAF Station Archerfield RAAF Station Bairnsdale RAAF Base Bowen RAAF Base Cairns RAAF Base Coffs Harbour RAAF Station Cunderdin RAAF Base Daly Waters RAAF Station Deniliquin RAAF Base Evans Head RAAF Base Fairbairn RAAF Base Gove RAAF Station Guildford RAAF Base Horn Island RAAF Jervis Bay RAAF Base Mallala RAAF Station Mascot RAAF Base Moruya RAAF Base Mildura RAAF Base Nabiac RAAF Station Narrandera RAAF Station Narromine RAAF Station Nowra RAAF Base Oakey RAAF Base Parafield RAAF Station Pokolbin RAAF Base Rathmines RAAF Station Parkes RAAF Station Sandgate RAAF Station Schofields RAAF Base Temora RAAF Base Tengah (Singapore) RAAF Station Tocumwal RAAF Ubon (Thailand) RAAF Base Uranquinty RAAF Station West Sale RAAF Base Western Junction
Overseas bases	RAAF Base Butterworth (Malaysia) RAAF Base Cocos Island (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) RAAF Base Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)
Shared bases	Defence Establishment Orchard Hills
Flying boat bases	Lake Boga Flying Boat Base RAAF Base Rathmines
RAAFs Curtin, Learmonth and Scherger are so-called "bare bases"