The facility was built to resemble a German village in Bavaria, to provide troops with a simulated backdrop when training for operations in European theatres including the
Cold War, the
Balkans and
Northern Ireland, and was completed in 1987. The facility includes a
shanty town stacked and laid out in rows of tightly packed streets, to provide an additional training area that more closely resembles the Army's operational theatres in
Afghanistan and
Iraq. There is also some rolling stock. The Copehill Down training area is open for public access. Non-combat access to the FIBUA village is restricted, but has been used for
airsoft wargaming and by
historical reenactment societies, which take part in private reenactments of battles. ==References==