Holbeach Air Weapons Range

Holbeach Air Weapons Range is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence air weapons training range (AWR) situated between Boston and King's Lynn, in the civil parish of Gedney on The Wash, Lincolnshire, eastern England.

The site was originally associated with RAF Sutton Bridge, but was designated Royal Air Force Holbeach in the 1950s. It adopted its current name in the mid-2000s, when operational control was transferred to the Defence Training Estate.

The remote air range opened in 1926 as an air gunnery facility established by the Royal Air Force Practice Camp Sutton Bridge (later named RAF Sutton Bridge). Operational use began on 27 September 1926, with biplanes conducting live firing and bombing runs over the area formally designated as "Holbeach Air Gunnery and Bombing Range", and colloquially referred to as Holbeach Marsh Range.

In the late 1950s, following the reduction of RAF Sutton Bridge to a care and maintenance role, the coastal marshland range was renamed RAF Holbeach Bombing Range. It was subsequently parented to RAF Marham as an Air Weapons Range (AWR) under RAF Strike Command.

On 1 April 2006, administrative responsibility for the defence estate was transferred to the Ministry of Defence—Defence Training Estate East (DTE East), based at West Tofts Camp in West Tofts near Thetford in Norfolk. This entity has since been renamed Defence Infrastructure Organisation East (DIO East).

DIO oversees operational support for Holbeach Air Weapons Range, including infrastructure planning, construction, maintenance, and servicing. Local administration is managed by a DIO Training Safety Officer (TSO), who ensures the safe delivery of daily training operations.

RAF Air Command, as the top-level budget holder, retains control of the core RAF station site, which encompasses 716 hectares. The air range control tower is staffed by RAF air traffic control personnel, supported by civilian range staff contracted through Landmarc Solutions.

The range covers 3,875 ha (14.96 sq mi), comprising 3,100 hectares of intertidal mudflats and 775 hectares of salt marsh. It provides facilities for RAF and NATO-allied aircraft to conduct weapons training, including aerial bomb drops, rocket and missile firing, and live-fire exercises as part of pre-deployment preparation. Since 1993, activities have expanded to include night bombing and helicopter operations. The range supports precision targeting with high-explosive aerial bombs, precision-guided munitions, and other aircraft-delivered weapons.