Aberporth Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Aber-porth) is situated southwest of

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 a ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

is being developed as West Wales Airport for domestic flights. It is also developing as a centre for the deployment of civil and military

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s (UAVs), known as 'drones'. The airport underwent major improvements in 2008 which extended the length of the runway from .

History

The following military units were posted here at some point: * 'B' Flight of

No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

(1 AACU) * 'L' Flight of 1 AACU * 'O' Flight of 1 AACU * 'Q' Flight of 1 AACU * 'X' Flight of 1 AACU * No. 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF *

No. 6 Air Observers School RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a Typography, typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal number, ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For exampl ...

No. 7 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF This is a List of Anti-aircraft co-operation units of the Royal Air Force. Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight RAF (1931–36) became Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Flight, ...

* No. 7 Maintenance Unit RAF *

No. 595 Squadron RAF No. 595 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1949. History The squadron was formed at RAF Aberporth, Wales on 1 December 1943, from nos. 1607, 1608, 1609 and 1621 Flight for anti-aircraft co-operation duties over cen ...

* No. 636 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF * No. 1608 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF * No. 1609 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF * No. 1621 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF * No. 2758 Squadron RAF Regiment * Combined Services Projectile Development Establishment *

University of Wales Air Squadron The Universities of Wales Air Squadron is a University Air Squadron of the Royal Air Force's Volunteer Reserve for students from Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David (form ...

Current use

The nearby range,

MoD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

Aberporth, is used for testing rockets by the

British military The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

, as well as for launching civilian rockets for atmospheric research. The site is currently managed by QinetiQ. Aberporth Aerodrome has a

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

Ordinary Licence (Number P859) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee. The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
The airfield is being used as a base for

Thales Watchkeeper WK450 The Thales Watchkeeper WK450 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for all weather, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) use by the British Army. It is provided under an £800 million contract with UAS Tactica ...

military

(UAV) trials over

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geograp ...

. On 13 June 2018 a Watchkeeper crashed into a lane near the airfield; there were no injuries.

References

External links

Aberporth Technology Park and West Wales Airport – An Overview of Proposals, Innovations and Benefits.
() {{authority control Transport in Ceredigion Airports in Wales Buildings and structures in Ceredigion