The construction of RAAF Base Edinburgh commenced in 1953 and it was officially opened 22 March 1954 as a support base for weapons development at the joint UK-Australian Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) at
Woomera and
Maralinga. The base was located alongside the wartime
Salisbury Explosives Factory, in open fields between the then country villages of
Salisbury (to the south) and
Smithfield (to the north). At about the same time, the satellite town of
Elizabeth was being established (to the east). Support for WRE testing activities had greatly reduced by the late 1960s. In 1968,
No. 11 Squadron relocated to Edinburgh operating
Orions. Originally, RAAF Base Edinburgh and the DSTO were located in Salisbury, (subsequently the suburb of Salisbury –
Postcode 5108), in the
City of Salisbury. In 1997, the Department of Defence decided to rationalise the then "DSTO Salisbury" site and sell off about 70% of the site, and surrounding "Defence-owned"
Crown land, to form the "Edinburgh Parks" industrial estate. The suburb of Salisbury was split in two, with the part containing the RAAF Base and DSTO renamed "Edinburgh" (after the RAAF Base). The new suburb was assigned the Postcode 5111. On 5 December 2003, stage one of the redevelopment of the base was opened including facilities for the newly formed
Aerospace Operational Support Group, and for the
Aircraft Research and Development Unit which had relocated from DSTO Salisbury, and for
Defence Materiel Organisation units - the Maritime Patrol System Program office and the Aeronautical Life Support Logistics Management Unit. In August 2012, stage two of the redevelopment of the base was completed including a new air traffic control tower and facilities for
No. 462 Squadron, which had relocated from Canberra, and for
No. 87 Squadron. On 19 November 2017,
Minister for Defence Marise Payne and
Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne announced that the base would be upgraded to operate the P-8A Poseidon including new facilities, infrastructure and airfield works with a strengthened and extended runway (by ). On 9 and 10 November 2019, the base held the 'Edinburgh Air Show 2019'. In May 2023, it was revealed that the
16th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery would be relocating from their
Woodside Barracks to purpose-built facilities at Edinburgh once completed, to accommodate the new
NASAMS ground-based air defence systems. On 5 September 2024, construction began on a $200m 'Deep Maintaince and Modification Facility' at Edinburgh to support the long-term maintaince, sustainment, and modification of the
Royal Australian Air Force's P-8A Poseidon and
E-7A Wedgetail fleet. Expected completion in 2026.
Environmental contamination In 2016 concerns were raised about
perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used in fire fighting foams at the base until 2004, being found in groundwater at the base and in nearby wetlands. A 2014 report from the
United States Environmental Protection Agency described PFOA and PFOS as
emergent contaminants that are "extremely persistent in the environment and resistant to typical environmental degradation processes" and which consequently pose "potential adverse effects for the environment and human health" due to their toxicity, mobility, and ability to
bioaccumulate. ==Current Air Force units==