RAAF Base Edinburgh

RAAF Base Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Adelaide, South Australia in Australia
RAAF Base Edinburgh YPED
Location in South Australia
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
Type Military air base
Site information
Owner Department of Defence
Operator  Royal Australian Air Force
Website RAAF Base Edinburgh
Site history
Built 1955 (1955)
Garrison information
Occupants
Airfield information
Identifiers ICAO: YPED
Elevation 20 metres (67 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
04/22 1,962 metres (6,437 ft) Grass
18/36 2,560 metres (8,399 ft) Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

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

The base is primarily home to No 92 Wing and their Lockheed AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft that conduct surveillance operations throughout Australia's region of interest. The Air Warfare Centre has subsumed the roles of AOSG and whilst it still conducts research and development on defence systems such as aircraft and weapons at the Woomera Test Range (WTR), it has expanded its role to address opportunities to improve Air Force’s ability to maximise the operational effectiveness of fifth-generation, networked capabilities through improved integration across Defence and increased knowledge sharing with allied AWCs.

Also after an extensive building program over the course of 2010-2011, RAAF Base Edinburgh is also become the home of 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army and 1st Armoured Regiment.and other some smaller units. This has pushed the daily working population of RAAF Base Edinburgh beyond 4,500 from 6am-6pm.

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.

In 2017 it was announced that the main runway would be extended by 275 metres (902 ft) to enable it to be used by the new Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft, which are replacing the Lockheed AP-3C Orion fleet.[5]

Environmental contamination

In 2016 concerns were raised about perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used in fire fighting foams at the base until 2004, being found in groundwater at the base and in nearby wetlands.[6][7]

Current units

UnitFull nameForce Element GroupAircraftNotes
HQ92WGHeadquarters No 92 WingSurveillance and Response Group
453SQN DET EDNNo. 453 SquadronSurveillance and Response GroupAir traffic control
24SQNNo. 24 (City of Adelaide) Squadron - Airbase supportCombat Support Group
87SQNNo. 87 Squadron - Air IntelligenceAir Warfare Centre
292SQNNo. 292 Squadron - Sensor operator trainingSurveillance and Response Group
HQ3SFSQNHeadquarters No 3 Security Forces Squadron
1RSUNo. 1 Remote Sensor UnitSurveillance and Response GroupJindalee Operational Radar Network
1EHS DET EDNNo 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron Detachment Edinburgh
1CCS EDN FLTNo 1 Combat Communication Squadron Flight Edinburgh
10SQNNo. 10 SquadronSurveillance and Response GroupAP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
11SQNNo. 11 SquadronSurveillance and Response GroupAP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
JEWOSUJoint Electronic Warfare Operational Support UnitAir Warfare CentreInformation Warfare Directorate (TU 646.7.1)
RAAF AISRAAF Aeronautical Information ServiceAir Warfare Centre
462SQNNo. 462 Squadron - information securityAir Warfare Centre
ARDUAircraft Research and Development UnitAir Warfare CentreDevelopment and Test Wing (DTWG)
ASE SQNARDU Systems Engineering SquadronAir Warfare Centre
ASCENGAircraft/Stores Compatibility Engineering AgencyAir Warfare Centre
AVMEDInstitute of Aviation MedicineAir Warfare Centre
HQWTRHeadquarters Woomera Test RangeAir Warfare CentreWoomera Test Range (TU 646.7.3)
WTROPSWTR Range Operations BranchAir Warfare Centre
WRARAAF Base WoomeraAir Warfare Centre
WPAWoomera Prohibited AreaAir Warfare Centre
WTRENGWTR Range Engineering BranchAir Warfare Centre
7RAR7th Battalion, Royal Australian RegimentAustralian Army
1ARMD REGT1st Armoured RegimentAustralian Army

The main aircraft type operating from Edinburgh is the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and its replacement the P-8A Poseidon. 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 subunit of the AWC. 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.

RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC)

The WRC is the Western world's largest defence systems test range complex and is an Australian icon. The land area of the range complex 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 complex is approximately 460 km (290 mi) north-west of Adelaide.

7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

See also

References

  1. ↑ YPED – Edinburgh (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 01 March 2018, Aeronautical Chart
  2. ↑ Mallala, RAAF Museum
  3. ↑ The wartime Salisbury Explosives factory became the Long Range Weapons Establishment, subsequently the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE), the Defence Research Centre, Salisbury (DRCS), and now, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO)
  4. ↑ Edinburgh, RAAF Museum
  5. ↑ Part of Penfield Road in Adelaide to be closed off so runway at RAAF Base Edinburgh can be extended Northern Messenger, 13 July 21017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Turnbull pledges blood tests for RAAF base toxic leak amid Defence probe The Advertiser, 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Defence Department holds public meeting to inform residents in Adelaide’s north about its inquiry into cancer-causing toxins at the Edinburgh RAAF base The Advertiser, 13 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
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