Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar (JDFN), located on the edge of Island Lagoon, approximately 15 km south of

Woomera, South Australia Woomera, unofficially Woomera village, refers to the domestic area of RAAF Base Woomera. Woomera village has always been a Defence-owned and operated facility. The village is located on the traditional lands of the Kokatha people in the Far ...

, was an Earth station in Australia operated jointly by the

Australian Department of Defence Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1969 through to 1999. Its official area of emphasis was space-based surveillance, in particular the early detection of missile launches and nuclear detonations using U.S. Defense Support Program satellites in geostationary orbits. The name ''Nurrungar'' derives from an aboriginal term meaning "listen".

History

Cold War

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

the site was crucially important to America's defences, being a facility for providing "launch on warning" surveillance of enemy ICBM and other rocket launches.Coleman, Mat
Inside Nurrungar
Inside Nurrungar ABC PM Archive, 16 September 1999 Not surprisingly, it was also regarded as one of the Soviets' top ten targets in the event that such an attack would actually take place. Politically it was both a symbol of U.S.-Australian relations, and highly controversial in Australia. This was mainly due to fears that the site could prompt a nuclear attack on Australian soil, and antipathy towards the US alliance amongst the Australian political left. Political demonstrations were staged at the facility in 1989, 1991 and 1993. Despite allegations that Australians were restricted from areas crucial to the facility's intelligence gathering capabilities, Australian military personnel were fully integrated into the site's operations. The public in general was not even aware of its existence until November 1970, a full year after it had been in operation. Its precise location did not leak out until some time later.

Vietnam War

Leaked Department of Defence documents have revealed that satellites controlled by the

Pine Gap Pine Gap is a satellite surveillance base and Australian Earth station approximately south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in the center of Australia. It is jointly operated by Australia and the United States, and since ...

and

Nurrungar Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar (JDFN), located on the edge of Island Lagoon, approximately 15 km south of Woomera, South Australia, was an Earth station in Australia operated jointly by the Australian Department of Defence and the United ...

facilities were used to pinpoint targets for bombings in Cambodia.

Decommissioning

After September 1999 its operations were moved to the Joint Defense Facility Pine Gap, near

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

, and ownership of the premises was transferred to the Woomera Test Range (headquartered in Adelaide). The ADF now uses the site occasionally for army test and evaluation work under the approval of the Woomera Test Range. The Woomera Test Range has taken some new steps with the announcement of Project JP3024, "Remediation of the Woomera Test Range". While Nurrungar is not specifically included in that project, Army and Air Force have been jointly using the site off and on since 2009. The site is surrounded by a high-security perimeter fence and still includes one of the old (believed heritage-listed) large radome structures. The radome still has the old satellite dish inside but it is believed all the operating mechanisms have long since been stripped out and sold for scrap. "

Current state of the facility

Inside the fence of the large facility, there are many large rooms including kitchens and some secure, bullet-proof rooms. There is even still a tennis court on the grounds. The whole facility is completely empty and stripped of lights and power plugs. Along the inside of the fence there are rows of barbed wire, microwave beams and other security features.

References

External links

* Barela, Timothy P.
Manning the Donut Hole: On Duty in Australia's Outback
April 1997 * Stewart, Cameron et al

'

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

, 18 February 1999 * Coleman, Mat
Inside Nurrungar
Inside Nurrungar ABC PM Archive, 16 September 1999 {{Australia–United States relations

Earth stations in South Australia Australia–United States military relations Military installations of the United States in Australia 1969 establishments in Australia 1999 disestablishments in Australia Far North (South Australia)