These are the most commonly asked questions about MOD Hebrides Range and its activities. We will periodically update this section to include new questions.
Q. What does QinetiQ do at MOD Hebrides?
A. The Ministry of Defence Hebrides Range Sites are located on the Islands of South Uist, Benbecula and St Kilda.
- The Missile Testing Range was built by the RAF between 1957 and 1958 to launch the Corporal Missile, Britain and America's first guided Nuclear Weapon.
- The Range currently consists of a Deep Range for complex Weapons Trials and in-service Firings and an Inner Range for ground-Based Air Defence Campaigns.
- The Range occupies 115,000km² of sanitised airspace with unlimited altitude and it can be extended to 460,000 km² for specific trials.
- This large area makes it ideal for Air-Launched Weapons Operations and is a fully Instrumented Controlled Environment which enables the test and evaluation of Land, Air and Sea Weapons, systems and training.
- The facility has recently (2015) been upgraded to support Maritime Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence
Q. I sometimes notice loud noise, is the noise coming from MOD Hebrides Range?
A. There are a number and variety of noise sources from around the Range including,
- Ground launched Aerial Targets from Rangehead Launch Areas 1, 2 & 3;
- Ground launched Missile Firings from Rangehead Launch Areas 1 & 3;
- Small Arms Firings – Rangehead;
- Explosives Disposals – Rangehead.
Q. Can I find out about Range activities/programme in advance?
A. Yes it is published online on our Range Activity Programme page.
Q. I live/work near to the MOD Hebrides Range - is there anything that I should be aware of that could affect me?
A. You need to be aware of the MOD Hebrides Range Air, Sea and Land Danger Areas if you are using Aircraft, Marine Vessels or planning to access Land Areas. Information on what you need to do with regards to these areas can be found on this website.