The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) is an underwater military test and evaluation range in the Inner Sound between the island of

Raasay Raasay (; ), sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound, Scotland, Inner Sound. It is famous fo ...

and the

Applecross Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its wes ...

peninsula, on the north west coast of Scotland. BUTEC is operated by defence contractor

QinetiQ QinetiQ ( as in '' kinetic'') is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabili ...

on behalf of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The range is used for noise ranging of surface ships and submarines and for testing of a variety of weapons and sensors.

History

BUTEC was established in the Inner Sound by the Ministry of Defence in the 1970s, the location chosen because of its sheltered, deep water, soft sea-bed and low levels of acoustic disturbance. The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Byelaws 1975 came into force on 1 September 1975. The byelaws prohibited public access to certain areas of land at all times and the sea range area when in use by the military for the firing, running and dropping of underwater vehicles and torpedoes and for all ancillary activities. The 1975 byelaws were replaced by revised byelaws in 1984, which were subsequently replaced again in 2016. The range was used for the extensive testing of the Stingray Torpedo in 1982/3 prior to its entry into Service in September 1983. It was also used to test a sample of torpedoes from a batch of 50 production torpedoes, with the batch only being accepted from the contractor (MUSL) if the tests were successful. This continued on a 6 weekly basis for a number of years using a Britain Normand Trilander as the drop vehicle. In 2002, there was controversy when a high-powered

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

device was tested on the range. The sonar had been blamed for the deaths of whales and dolphins and had been banned in the USA."British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC)"
Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 20 December 2008.

Facilities

The BUTEC range is 10 km long and 6 km wide, with a water depth of between 175m and 200m. An Air Danger Area can be activated to cover the entire range if required. Together the area provides a controlled safe environment for a variety of trials and training activities, including airborne, surface and sub-surface assets, weapons and targets. The range consists of a noise range to the east of the isle of South Rona, and a torpedo testing range located in the centre of the Inner Sound between the isle of

and Applecross on the mainland. The noise range is about a mile long and divided into blocks 50 yards wide (labelled A to Z) within which is a large array of sensors. A submarine is expected to move through the middle of the range (blocks M or N) repeatedly as the shore-based scientific team on Rona analyse the sound of the submarine. If the boat does not achieve its expected aural signature, it is not permitted to start active patrols.Navy News, May 2008

Operations

The Range Terminal Control Building (including jetty and heliport) are situated at the eastern edge of the range, adjacent to the

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

archaeological site, about 4 miles north of Applecross. Outlying installations for the noise range are located on the island of Rona. The main logistics and administrative centre is the Shore Support Base, at

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

. The torpedo testing range is covered by bylaws which ban any underwater activity by fishermen within the range area and trawling activities are also banned within the whole of the Inner Sound area.The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre Byelaws 1984
( SI 1984/1851) including a map of the underwater test range boundary and the location of the Range Terminal Control Building and warning flag Upcoming range activities are published in the local newspaper West Highland Free Press. When firings are taking place, safety vessels are placed around the range area. Firings are done by submarines, helicopters, aircraft and boats. The torpedoes are equipped with acoustic tracking and measuring equipment in place of warheads. Other trials are carried out here including the use of sonars and exercises by Minehunters.

External links

The British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre Byelaws 2016 (SI 2016 No. 654)Qinetiq – MOD BUTEC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butec Isle of Skye Royal Navy bases in Scotland Naval units and formations of the United Kingdom

History

Facilities

Operations

See also

External links

References