The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately 450 km (280 mi) north-west of Adelaide.

[6] The ground area of the WPA is bound generally by Woomera in the south-east, Roxby Downs and the village associated with the Olympic Dam mine in the east, William Creek in the north-east, Coober Pedy and further north to the 28th parallel, Maralinga in the south-west, and the Trans-Australian Railway and Tarcoola in the south.

Entry into Woomera Restricted Airspace (WRX) is controlled by the RAAF for safety and security reasons during the conduct of some activities on the complex.

[4][2] In April 1946 a mission from the United Kingdom led by Lieutenant-General JF Evetts CB CBE MC flew to Mt Eba homestead to carry out the first investigation for the suitability of the area for a guided missile range.

[5][25] This was later scaled back to a total area of 127,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi); still the largest land-based weapons test complex in the western world.

However, with the establishment of the USAF/ADF Joint Defence Communications Facility at the nearby Nurrungar site in 1969, approximately 18 km (11 mi) south of Woomera, along with its 1100 permanent staff, the village population stabilised at around 4,500 people (including around 800 children).

In the late 1990s, as the Nurrungar program was winding down, the ADF reassessed the role of Woomera in its future force structure.

This assessment was to redefine the future role and strategic importance of the Woomera Range Complex within Australia's long-term Defence requirements.

That former position, however, was recognised in 2007 with the unveiling of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) plaque commemorating Woomera's induction into the AIAA hall of fame, a distinction that placed Woomera's contribution to aerospace history and development on a par with Kitty Hawk (site of the first heavier than air controlled flight), and the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon (site of the first inter-planetary landing by humans).

By 1999 the Defence Science and Technology Organisation and the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit identified the future potential for the complex, particularly as it was one of the few sites in the world where over-the-horizon weapons testing was feasible.

[5] Prior to this review, the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU), and in conjunction with the DSTO, had been continuing to utilise the former 'Range E' (instrumented) facility since 1991.

In 2007, the Woomera Test Range was acknowledged by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as a site of world aerospace historical significance.

In 2016 the Australian Government announced plans for an A$297-million remediation of the range and the upgrade of the measuring and monitoring and sensor systems at Woomera.

[26] The works are intended to accommodate performance tests of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and provide access for the United States military.

[27] Raytheon announced that the range would be challenged by the testing of "new remotely piloted air systems, evolved network centric warfare capabilities, and weapons fitted to the EA-18G Growlers and Joint Strike Fighters" after the upgrade.

[citation needed] In 2013 testing began on Taranis, a drone aircraft which is the result of a joint project between UK defence and BAE Systems.

[30] The increase in interest from other parties prompted the Australian government to mark $500 million in funding for Woomera in May 2009, to update tracking systems and other infrastructure.

[30] The complex is currently used for Australian Defence Force trials, and access is leased to foreign militaries and private companies for their own testing of weapons systems, rockets, and drone aircraft.

[4] During the Cold War, Woomera had the second highest quantity and rate of rocket launches in the world after NASA's facilities at Cape Canaveral.

Local volunteers assist RAAF Woomera in hosting stargazing observatory nights for the public and visiting military units.

[55][better source needed][better source needed] Non-defence users of the area include pastoralists, Aboriginal people and traditional owners, mining and exploration companies with leases in the WPA (including Arrium and OZ Minerals), opal miners, tourists, research organisations and rail operator, One Rail Australia.

[citation needed] Effective from 1 January 2015, the management of the Woomera Range Complex was reorganised under the new RAAF Air Warfare Centre (AWC).

CSG's role, delivered through No.20 (Woomera) Squadron, is to essentially operate the aerodrome precinct ('Base Sector North') element of the base in direct support of Defence activities at the WRC.

Consistent with the operation of all other RAAF Bases, DEIG manages a range of contractors to Defence to deliver the required services at Woomera.

The Woomera Prohibited Area Advisory Board monitors the operations of the Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office and meets semi-annually to recommend amendments to co-existence policies and procedures; develop high-level relationships between Defence and the resources sector; resolve disputes between Defence and non-Defence users; report annually on the balance of interests in the WPA; and conduct a review every seven years of the balance of interests in the WPA.

[63] In 2021, an anti-aircraft missile was found at Lake Hart West, a registered Aboriginal heritage site, about 50 km (31 mi) southeast of the trees, and this was not removed for about a year.

However, a 2022 inspection by SBS News reporters and Kokatha representatives found that there were shell fragments of carbon fibre on the dunes around the site.

There are at least 14 separate stone foundations at Lake Hart North (which is not used by the department), which the archaeologists surmised were either "habitation structures" or "low-walled hunting hides".

Other Aboriginal Australian rock art exists throughout the area, including at Lake Hart, portraying, among other things, footprints which match the Genyornis, a giant bird that went extinct thousands of years ago.