| MOD Boscombe Down | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amesbury, Wiltshire in United Kingdom | |||||||||
 A Eurofighter Typhoon at MOD Boscombe Down | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
  MOD Boscombe Down Shown within Wiltshire | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°09′27″N 01°44′49″W / 51.15750°N 1.74694°W | ||||||||
| Type | Military test and evaluation airfield | ||||||||
| Area | 572 hectares (1,410 acres)[1] | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | QinetiQ and Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1917[2] | ||||||||
| In use | 1917 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Occupants | |||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: EGDM, WMO: 03746 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 123.7 metres (406 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Source: UK MIL AIP Barkston Heath[3] | |||||||||
MoD Boscombe Down (ICAO: EGDM) is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ,[2] the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).[2]
The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has one active runway 3,212 metres (10,538 ft) in length. The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS).[4] It will be home to an anti-jamming test facility by 2026.
- ^ "Defence Estates Development Plan 2009 – Annex A". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 47. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Boscombe Down (Red House Farm)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ "UK MIL AIP Boscombe Down" (PDF). UK Military AIP. No.1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "Empire Test Pilot School contact information". QinetiQ.com. QinetiQ. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.