Llanbedr

RAF Llanbedr was formally opened on 15 Jun 1941. Its distinguished history with airborne targets (serving variously, the Aberporth, Cardigan Bay, Tonfannau and Ty Croes ranges) began in spring 1942 and later the station became an airborne gunnery school in 1943 and eventually put into Care and Maintenance in 1949.

With the advances being made in airborne missiles, it was decided in Oct 1950 that pilotless targets would be needed, in order to test them. Development took two paths; a short term stop-gap was to install radio-controls into existing UK airframes and the other was to develop a pilotless target from the outset. Two were underway in Australia; the Pika and the Jindvik, the latter of which would be based at Llanbedr for many years.

A Royal Aircraft Establishment site since 1957, RAE Llanbedr became a Royal Aerospace Establishment in 1998 until DRA was formed in 1991 and the name changed again. During Jun 1992, there was another internal reorganisatIon of support services as the MoD groped towards open market readiness; DRA Llanbedr was renamed T&EE Llanbedr as it came under the control of Director General Targets and Evaluation. In Apr 1995, T&EE Llanbedr was again renamed, to DERA Llanbedr, following the rationalisation of support services for the British Military. DERA Llanbedr was renamed MoD Llanbedr in Jul 2001 when QinetiQ was formed.

By 2017, the emphasis had shifted from providing airborne targets to be shot down, to establishing regulations for UAV use in UK airspace and in the testing of new UAV models. The site is also a candidate for a future UK Spaceport; other contenders are Newquay, Campbeltown, Leuchars, Lossiemouth, Kinloss, Prestwick and Stornoway.