Delamere Air Weapons Range is a bombing range operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), located in the Northern Territory of Australia. The facility is located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of the town of Katherine and RAAF Base Tindal, Australia's largest airbase.[1]

Delamere Air Weapons Range
Near Katherine, Northern Territory in Australia
A bomb dropped by U.S. Marine squadron VMFA-232 explodes at Delamere Air Weapons Range during Exercise Southern Frontier 2012
Delamere Air Weapons Range Location of Delamere AWR in the Northern Territory
Coordinates	15°37′S 131°52′E
Type	Bombing range
Area	2,110 square kilometres (810 sq mi)
Site information
Owner	Department of Defence
Operator	Royal Australian Air Force
Controlled by	No. 322 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF
Site history
Built	1988 (1988)

The Delamere facility is managed round-the-clock by a detachment of eight members of the No. 322 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF. Its large area—2,110 square kilometres (810 sq mi)[2]—and 60,000 feet (18,000 m) of vertical airspace clearance allow virtually unrestricted freedom of tactical testing and training using any conventional weapons. In addition to its large mass inert weapon range, Delamere also has two practice ranges for smaller weapons testing, a simulated airfield complex, and a simulated township constructed from shipping containers named "Tac Town".[3]

Delamere is 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the larger Bradshaw Field Training Area which has an area of 8,700 square kilometres (3,400 sq mi), and the Department of Defence has considered acquiring land between the two facilities to merge them.[4] Both areas are used for joint military exercises such as the Australia–United States Exercise Talisman Saber. Delamere is electronically linked with Bradshaw Field and Mount Bundey Training Area to form the North Australian Range Complex.[5]

The range is served by its own airfield, Delamere Range Facility Airport (ICAO: YDWF).[6]

See also

• List of Royal Australian Air Force installations
• List of airports in the Northern Territory

References