Proving ground

A proving ground is the US name for a military installation or reservation where weapons or other military technology are experimented with or are tested, or where military tactics are tested. The usual British term is training area.

While these types of facilities are usually military or government establishments, some civilian industries have their own proving grounds for testing prototypes and new technologies.

Military and Government

Australasia

Australia

• (Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area) Shoalwater Bay, Queensland (4545 km²)

Europe

Austria

• Allentsteig, Lower Austria (157 km²), largest training area in Austria
• Bruckneudorf, Lower Austria
• Glainach, Carinthia
• Großmittel, Lower Austria
• Hochfilzen, Tyrol
• Marwiesen, Carinthia
• Lizum-Walchen, Tyrol (50 km²)
• Pöls, Styria.
• Seetaler Alpen, Styria

Czech Republic

Military Area Boletice, Czech Republic

There are five proving grounds in the Czech Republic with the total area of 1296 km².

Finland

• Rovajärvi proving ground near Rovaniemi in Lapland is the largest proving ground in Northern Europe.
• The Artillery Brigade in Niinisalo, currently houses the Finnish ordnance R&D center (established 1921).

Germany

• Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Lower Saxony (284 km²), NATO facility, largest training area in Germany.
• Hammelburg, Bavaria (40 km²). Hammelburg features a complete artificial village for training purposes of the German Army
• Hohenfels, Bavaria (160 km²) Hohenfels Training Area
• Grafenwöhr, Bavaria (229 km²) a US facility
• Munster Training Area, Lower Saxony.
• Sennelager Training Area, North Rhine-Westphalia, managed by the British Army.

Ireland

• Glen of Imaal (27 km²), an Irish Army artillery, live fire and tactical training area.

Italy

• Salto di Quirra (120 km²), an Italian inter-forces proving ground located in Sardinia that's recently been the object of many controversies.^[1]

Poland

• Drawsko Pomorskie (340 km²) belongs to Polish Army and Air Force (since 1946), since 1996 also used by NATO. This facility is internationally known as DPTA - Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area. It is also an important site of archeological excavations.
• Ośrodek Szkolenia Poligonowego Wojsk Lądowych Żagań (about 34,000 ha) in Żagań County and Bolesławiec County; belongs to Polish Land Forces also used by NATO

Portugal

• Alcochete (75 km²) - artillery and air bombing range. Established in 1904, it was managed by the Portuguese Army until 1993 and since them is managed by the Portuguese Air Force. It is the largest closed military facility in Europe. In 2008, it was chogen to be the site of the future New Lisbon International Airport.

United Kingdom

• Salisbury Plain Training Area, United Kingdom (380 km²)
• Stanford Training Area (STANTA), Norfolk United Kingdom 120 km²) - established 1942, includes an "Afghan" village
• Otterburn Training Area, Northumberland, United Kingdom (242 km²)

Russia/former Soviet Union

In Russia a designated area is usually called a "polygon" (Полигон).

• Kapustin Yar - aerial weapons/rocket test range, North Caucasus Military District
• Totskoye range nuclear tests - test range in the Urals where nuclear tests were carried out in 1954
• YakutiaChallenge - winter test proving ground in Yakutia, Eastern Siberia

North America

Canada

• CFB Suffield, Alberta (2690 km²) - training base for Canadian Forces and British Army
• Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford, Ontario (68 km²) - tank training area
• Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta - home to Land Force Western Area Training Centre (LFWATC) and the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC)
• Land Force Atlantic Area Training Centre Aldershot, Nova Scotia (1,136 ha)

United States

In the United States, there are several military facilities that are designated as Proving Grounds.

• Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located at Aberdeen, Maryland, and is the Army's oldest active proving ground, established on October 20, 1917, six months after the United States entered World War I. It was created so that design and testing of ordnance materiel could be carried out in proximity to the nation's industrial and shipping centers at the time.
• Dugway Proving Ground in an active facility operated by the United States Army Test and Evaluation Command in the Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah. Dugway's mission is to test U.S. and Allied biological and chemical weapon defense systems.
• Fort Belvoir Proving ground, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
• Pacific Proving Ground is an inactive U.S. Department of Energy area in the Marshall Islands that were established by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1946 for detonation of nuclear devices for testing weapon design and effects. It mainly consists of Bikini Atoll, Enewetak Atoll & the surrounding area. Deactivated in 1963
• Jefferson Proving Ground located in Madison, Indiana, was principally a munitions testing facility of Test and Evaluation Command of the United States Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command. The facility was ordered closed in 1989 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
• Sandy Hook Proving Ground, at Sandy Hook, New Jersey was the nation's first such facility. It was created in 1874 and was used as a proving ground until 1919.
• Scituate Proving Ground, a former proving ground in Scituate, Massachusetts, operational from 1918 to 1921.
• Yuma Proving Ground is a United States Army facility situated in southwestern La Paz County and western Yuma County in southwestern Arizona, U.S., approximately 30 miles (48 km) north-east of the city of Yuma. The proving ground is used for testing military equipment and encompasses 1,307.8 square miles (3,387.2 km²) in the Sonoran Desert.

Civilian Facilities

Automakers

• Chrysler Corporation - See Chrysler Proving Grounds
• Ford Motor Company - See Ford Proving Grounds
• General Motors Corporation - See General Motors Proving Grounds
• Mazda Motors Corporation - See Mazda Proving Grounds
• Nissan Motors - See Nissan Proving Grounds
• Porsche Engineering - Nardò Ring
• VW Group - Ehra-Lessien test track

Other automotive

• Applus IDIADA, Spain
• de:Automotive Testing Papenburg, Germany

External links

• Finnish ordnance center at mil.fi (in Finnish)
• YakutiaChallenge
• Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area
• Otterburn Training Area

References

1. Poligono Sperimentale e di Addestramento Interforze del Salto di Quirra