In the second half of the 1970s, the British government curtailed a number of large-scale defense programs. This was largely due to the realization that Great Britain had finally lost the weight and influence that it had before World War II. Being drawn into a full-scale arms race with the USSR was fraught with excessive financial spending and a worsening of the socio-economic situation in the country, and the British, limiting their ambitions, preferred to take a secondary position as a loyal ally of the United States, largely shifting the burden of ensuring their own security to the Americans. So, in fact, the naval component of the British nuclear forces was under US control, and the tests of British nuclear warheads were carried out at the American test site in Nevada. Great Britain also abandoned the independent development of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as medium and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems.
As a result of the abandonment of the development of expensive long-range missile technology, the value of the Woomera test site for the British was reduced to a minimum, and by the end of the 1970s, British weapons tests in South Australia were largely discontinued. In 1980, the UK finally transferred the infrastructure of the missile test center under the full control of the Australian government. The northwestern part of the test site, where the target field for ballistic missiles was located, was returned to the control of the civil administration, and the territory left at the disposal of the military was approximately halved. From that moment, the Woomera training ground began to play the role of the main training and test facility, where units of the Australian armed forces conducted missile and artillery firing and exercises using live shells and missiles, as well as testing new types of weapons.
The calculations of the army air defense are regularly carried out at the test site by launches of short-range anti-aircraft missiles RBS-70. This Swedish-made laser-guided air defense system has a range of up to 8 km of destruction of air targets. Artillery firing of 105 and 155-mm guns is still carried out here, as well as tests of various ammunition.
In addition to the ground forces in the area, the Australian Air Force has been bombing and firing at ground targets from aircraft cannons and unguided rockets since the late 1950s. And also training launches of air-to-air missiles against unmanned target aircraft.
For the first time, British-made Meteor and Vampire Australian jet fighters, as well as Lincoln piston bombers, were relocated to Woomera AFB for training in 1959. Subsequently, some of the outdated aircraft of the Australian Air Force were converted into radio-controlled targets or shot on the ground. The last flying unmanned Meteor was destroyed by an anti-aircraft missile in 1971.
The use of the Woomera training area by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for practicing combat applications took on a large scale after the Mirage III fighters and F-111 bombers entered service.
Australia sold the last Mirage III single-engine fighters to Pakistan in 1989, and the F-111 twin-engine variable-sweep bombers served until 2010. Currently, the F / A-18A / B Hornet and F / A-18F Super Hornet fighters are designed to provide air defense for the Green Continent and strike at ground and sea targets in the RAAF. In total, there are about 70 Hornets in flight condition in Australia, which are permanently deployed at three air bases.
About once every two years, Australian pilots on their fighters undergo a live-fire training course at Woomera AFB. At the test site in South Australia, it is planned to practice the combat use of F-35A fighters, the delivery of which to the RAAF began in 2014.
Since 1994, American-made MQM-107E Streaker UAVs, designated N28 Kalkara in Australia, have been used as air targets since 1994. The radio-controlled target has a maximum take-off weight of 664 kg, a length of 5.5 m, a wingspan of 3 m. The small-sized TRI 60 turbojet engine accelerates the vehicle to a speed of 925 km / h. The ceiling is 12,000 m. The launch is carried out using a solid fuel booster.
In addition to F / A-18 fighters, Israeli-made Heron drones and American Shadow 200 (RQ-7B) drones were spotted at Woomera airbase. In the near future, Heron UAVs are to be replaced by the American MQ-9 Reaper.
At the moment, the runway and the infrastructure of the RAAF Base Woomera or "Basic South Sector" airfield, located in the immediate vicinity of a residential village, are used for flights. The RAAF Base Woomera GDP is capable of receiving all types of aircraft, including the C-17 Globemasters and the C-5 Galaxy. The runway at Evetts Field AFB, adjacent to the missile range's launch sites, is in poor condition and in need of repair. Airspace of more than 122,000 km² is currently closed to airspace without prior notice to RAAF Command based at Edinburgh Air Base (Adelaide, South Australia). Thus, at the disposal of the relatively small size of the Australian Air Force for use as a training ground, there is a very vast territory - in area only half that of Great Britain. In 2016, the Australian government announced its intention to modernize the test site and invest $ 297 million in upgrading optical and radar tracking stations. It is also planned to upgrade communications and telemetry facilities designed to service the test process.
In general, the creation of the Woomer Test Missile System has had a huge impact on the development of defense infrastructure in Australia. So in the mid-1960s, 15 km south of Woomera airbase, construction began on an object known as the Test Area Nurrungar. Initially, it was intended for radar support for missile firing at the range. Soon, the American military appeared at the facility, and a space object tracking station, integrated into the missile attack warning system, arose not far from the missile range. Also, seismographic equipment was placed here for recording nuclear tests.
During the war in Southeast Asia, the tracking center equipment received information from American reconnaissance satellites, on the basis of which targets for the B-52 bombers were outlined. In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, information about Iraqi ballistic missile launches was broadcast through a station in Australia. According to Australian sources, the facility was decommissioned and mothballed in 2009. At the same time, it retains a minimum of personnel and security.
Simultaneously with the Test Area Nurrungar facility in the central part of the Green Continent, 18 kilometers south-west of the city of Alice Springs, a Pine Gap tracking center was under construction.
The site was chosen with the expectation that ground-based radar stations were able to observe the entire trajectory of ballistic missiles from the moment of launch to the fall of their warheads on a target field in the northwestern part of Australia. Following the collapse of the British missile program, the Pine Gap tracking center was redeveloped in the interests of American intelligence. It is currently the largest US defense facility on Australian soil. There are about 800 American troops on a permanent basis. Reception and transmission of information is carried out through 38 antennas, covered with spherical fairings. They provide communication with reconnaissance satellites that control the Asian part of Russia, China and the Middle East. Also, the tasks of the center are: receiving telemetric information during testing of ICBMs and missile defense systems, supporting elements of an early warning system, intercepting and decoding radio frequency messages. As part of the "fight against terrorism" in the 21st century, the Pine Gap tracking center plays an important role in determining the coordinates of potential targets and planning airstrikes.
In 1965, in the southwestern part of Australia, 40 km west of Canberra, the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) began operations. The facility was originally operated for the British space program, but is now maintained by Raytheon and BAE Systems and operates on behalf of NASA.
At the moment, there are 7 parabolic antennas with a diameter of 26 to 70 m, which are used to exchange data with spacecraft. In the past, the CDSCC complex was used to communicate with the lunar module during the Apollo program. Large parabolic antennas can receive and transmit signals from spacecraft in both deep space and near-earth orbit.
The Australian Defense Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS), an American satellite communications and electronic intercept facility, is located 30 km off the west coast, near the port of Heraldton. The satellite image shows five large radio-transparent domes, as well as several open parabolic antennas.
According to publicly available information, the ADSCS facility is part of the US ECHELON system and is operated by the US NSA. Since 2009, equipment has been installed here to ensure the operation of the Objective System Mobile User (MUOS) satellite communication system. This system operates in the 1 - 3 GHz frequency range and is capable of providing high-speed data exchange with mobile platforms, which in turn makes it possible to control and receive information from reconnaissance UAVs in real time.
In recent years, Australia's joint defense cooperation with the United States has expanded significantly. Raytheon Australia has recently been awarded a contract to develop and manufacture radar systems capable of detecting stealth aircraft. Also at the Woomera test site, together with the United States, it is planned to test new UAVs, electronic reconnaissance aircraft and electronic warfare equipment. After the UK refused to maintain the Australian Woomer test site, the Australian government began to look for partners on the side who were ready to shoulder part of the costs of maintaining the missile test sites, the control and measuring complex and the air base in working order. Soon, the United States became the main Australian partner in ensuring the functioning of the landfill. But given the fact that the Americans have at their disposal a large number of their own missile and aircraft ranges, and the remoteness of Australia from North America, the intensity of the use of the Woomera test site was not high.
Many aspects of the American-Australian defense cooperation are covered with a veil of secrecy, but in particular, it is known that American guided bombs and jammers of EA-18G Growler electronic jammers were tested in Australia. At the end of 1999, American and Australian specialists tested AGM-142 Popeye air-to-surface missiles at the test site. The Australian F-111C and the American B-52G were used as carriers.
In 2004, as part of a joint American-Australian test program, 230 kg of guided GBU-38 JDAM bombs were dropped from F / A-18 aircraft. At the same time, at the test site, with the involvement of Australian F-111C and F / A-18, they were practicing miniature guided aviation ammunition designed to destroy ground targets and AIM-132 ASRAAM air combat missiles.
Experiments made by the American Space Agency - NASA with sounding high-altitude rockets received wider publicity. Between May 1970 and February 1977, the Goddard Space Flight Center carried out 20 launches of the Aerobee family of research rockets (Aeropchela). The purpose of the research launches, according to the official version, was to study the state of the atmosphere at high altitude and collect information about cosmic radiation in the southern hemisphere.
Initially, the Aerobee rocket was developed since 1946 by the Aerojet-General Corporation by order of the US Navy as an anti-aircraft missile. As conceived by the American admirals, this long-range missile defense was to be armed with air defense cruisers of special construction. In February 1947, during a test launch, the rocket reached an altitude of 55 km, and the estimated range of destruction of air targets was to exceed 150 km. However, the American naval commanders soon lost interest in the Aeropchel and preferred the RIM-2 Terrier air defense system with a solid-propellant missile defense system. This was due to the fact that Aerobee missiles weighing 727 kg and a length of 7, 8 m were very problematic to place in significant numbers on a warship. In addition to the difficulties with storing and loading rocket ammunition, with such dimensions, huge difficulties arose during the creation of a launcher and an automated reloading system. The first stage of the Aerobee missiles was solid-fuel, but the second-stage rocket engine ran on toxic aniline and concentrated nitric acid, which made it impossible to store the missiles for a long time. As a result, a family of high-altitude probes was created on the basis of the failed missile defense system. The first modification of the Aerobee-Hi (A-5) altitude probe, created in 1952, could lift 68 kg of payload to a height of 130 km. The latest version of the Aerobee-350, with a launch weight of 3839 kg, had a ceiling of more than 400 km. The head of the Aerobee missiles was equipped with a parachute rescue system, in most cases there was telemetry equipment on board. According to published materials, Aerobee missiles were widely used in research in the development of military missiles for various purposes. In total, until January 1985, the Americans launched 1,037 altitude probes. In Australia, rockets of modifications were launched: Aerobee-150 (3 launches), Aerobee-170 (7 launches), Aerobee-200 (5 launches) and Aerobee-200A (5 launches).
At the beginning of the 21st century, information appeared in the media about the development of a hypersonic ramjet engine as part of the HyShot program. The program was originally started by a scientist at the University of Queensland. Research organizations from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, South Korea and Australia joined the project. On July 30, 2002, flight tests of a hypersonic ramjet engine took place at the Woomera test site in Australia. The engine was installed on a Terrier-Orion Mk70 geophysical rocket. It was turned on at an altitude of about 35 kilometers.
The Terrier-Orion booster module in the first stage uses the propulsion system of the decommissioned RIM-2 Terrier naval missile defense system, and the second stage is the Orion sounding rocket's solid-propellant engine. The first launch of the Terrier-Orion rocket took place in April 1994. The length of the Terrier-Orion Mk70 rocket is 10.7 m, the diameter of the first stage is 0.46 m, the second stage is 0.36 m. The rocket is capable of delivering a payload weighing 290 kg to an altitude of 190 km. The maximum horizontal flight speed at an altitude of 53 km is more than 9000 km / h. The rocket is suspended on the launch beam in a horizontal position, after which it rises vertically.
In 2003, the first launch of the improved Terrier Improved Orion rocket took place. The "Improved Terrier-Orion" differs from earlier versions by a more compact and lighter control system and increased engine thrust. This allowed for increased payload weight and top speed.
On March 25, 2006, a rocket with a scramjet engine developed by the British company QinetiQ was launched from the Woomera test site. Also, within the framework of the HyShot program, two launches took place: March 30, 2006 and June 15, 2007. According to the information released during these flights, it was possible to reach a speed of 8M.
The results obtained during the HyShot test cycle became the basis for launching the next HIFiRE (Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation) scramjet program. The participants in this program are: the University of Queensland, the Australian subsidiary of BAE Systems Corporation, NASA and the US Department of Defense. Testing of real samples created under this program began in 2009 and continues to this day. The spice of launching Terrier-Orion missiles at a test site in South Australia is betrayed by the fact that in the past they were used as targets during tests of elements of the American missile defense system.
In February 2014, the British aerospace corporation BAE Systems first demonstrated a video from the flight tests of its unobtrusive UAV Taranis (the thundering god of Celtic mythology). The first flight of the drone took place on August 10, 2013 at the Woomera air base in Australia. Earlier BAE Systems showed only schematic mock-ups of the new unmanned vehicle.
The new Taranis stealth attack drone should be equipped with a set of guided weapons, including air-to-air missiles and high-precision ammunition to destroy moving targets on the ground. According to information published in the media, the Taranis UAV has a length of 12.5 meters and a wingspan of 10 meters. BAE says it will be able to carry out autonomous missions and will have an intercontinental range. The drone is supposed to be controlled via satellite communication channels. As of 2017, £ 185 million has been spent on the Taranis program.
As part of international cooperation, research projects with other foreign partners were carried out at the Woomera test site. On July 15, 2002, a supersonic model was launched in the interests of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The prototype, 11.5 m long, did not have its own engine and was accelerated using a solid propellant booster. According to the test program, on a route with a length of 18 km, he had to develop a speed of more than 2M and land with a parachute. The launch of the experimental model was carried out from the same launcher from which the Terrier-Orion missiles were launched. However, the device could not separate from the carrier rocket in a regular way and the test program could not be completed.
According to the official version, this test was necessary for the development of a Japanese supersonic passenger aircraft, which was supposed to surpass the British-French Concorde in its efficiency. However, a number of experts believe that the material obtained during the experiment could also be used to create a 5th generation Japanese fighter.
After an unsuccessful start, Japanese specialists largely redesigned the experimental apparatus. According to a press release published by JAXA, the successful launch of the prototype NEXST-1 took place on October 10, 2005. During the flight program, the device exceeded the speed of 2M, having risen to an altitude of 12,000 m. The total time spent in the air was 15 minutes.
The Australian-Japanese cooperation did not stop there. On June 13, 2010, the landing capsule of the Japanese space probe Hayabusa landed in a closed area in South Australia. During its mission, the interplanetary vehicle took samples from the surface of the asteroid Itokawa and successfully returned to Earth.
In the 21st century, the Woomera rocket range had a chance to regain the status of a cosmodrome. The Russian side was looking for a place to build a new launch pad for the implementation of international contracts for the launch of a payload into outer space. But in the end, preference was given to the Space Center in French Guiana. Nevertheless, the possibility of launching rockets in the future in South Australia, delivering satellites to low-earth orbit, remains. A number of large private investors are considering the possibility of restoring the launch sites. This is primarily due to the fact that there are not many places left on our densely populated planet from which it would be possible to safely launch heavy rockets into space with minimal energy costs. However, there is no doubt that the Woomera test site will not face closure in the near future. Every year, dozens of missiles of various classes are launched in this isolated area of Australia, from ATGMs to high-altitude research probes. In total, more than 6,000 missile launches have been made at the Australian test site since the early 1950s.
As in the case of the Australian nuclear test sites, the missile test center is open to visitors and organized tourist groups can be admitted here. To visit the sites from which the launch of British ballistic and carrier rockets was carried out, permission from the command of the training ground, which is located at the Edinburgh airbase, is required. In the residential village of Vumera, there is an open-air museum, where samples of aviation and rocket technology that were tested at the test site are presented. In order to enter the village, no special permit is required. But visitors wishing to stay in it for more than two days are required to notify the local administration about this. At the entrance to the territory of the landfill, warning signs are installed, and police and military officers regularly patrol its perimeter in cars, helicopters and light aircraft.
