Dundrennan Range is a weapons testing range on the Solway Firth, near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, in south west Scotland, it is part of the Ministry of Defence's Kirkcudbright Training Area. History Previously farming land, the site of was acquired by the British Army in 1942 to train forces for the invasion of mainland Europe. The area includes a sea danger area. The range takes its name from the nearby village of Dundrennan. There is evidence of Bronze Age settlement on the site evidenced by rock art, flint tools and fortified enclosures. Rail gun & depleted uranium controversy The range is the site of the Electro-Magnetic Launch Facility where, since 1993, the Ministry of Defence and the United States Army have been collaborating on a research project aimed at developing an electro-magnetic launcher, or railgun, capable of launching shells at and destroying a tank at a distance of . The weapon developed at the site by the Defence Research Agency is considered to be the most successful example of a rail gun developed as it holds a number of records on velocity. In 2001 local people raised concern over the use of depleted uranium shells on the site given health fears which had come to light after service personnel from the Gulf War had fallen sick from such ammunition, however a spokesperson from the British Army claimed the tests were entirely safe. Later that year the Scottish National Party lodged a debate in the House of Commons to call for the immediate suspension of tests on the site, however this was dismissed by the then Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon. In 2003 the renewal of the project was opposed by the then First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell until a local consultation on the use of the weapon could be carried out, however the site continued to operate. In 2006 concerns were again raised by local MSPs Alasdair Morgan and Chris Ballance regarding the use of depleted uranium shells at the site after calls by a number of international bodies to stop the usage of such armaments given their impact on human health. It is estimated that the site has fired over 6,000 rounds of depleted uranium, amounting to 20 tons, into the Solway Firth. In 2008 the then Scottish Government environment minister Michael Russell criticised the continued tests on site of depleted uranium despite previous moves