A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. They are distinct from military training areas which are run by the military and intended for the routine training and exercising of troops across the terrain.

Military and government

Germany

Russia / Former Soviet Union

In Russia, a designated area is usually called a "polygon".

South Korea

Sweden

United States

In the United States, there are several military facilities that have been explicitly designated as proving grounds.

Automotive

Automotive proving grounds or automotive test tracks serve the automotive industry for road vehicle testing. In the automotive development process, vehicle manufacturers typically test the behaviour of vehicles in various environments and traffic situations. Conventional vehicle testing usually focuses on the dynamic properties of vehicles. Test tracks generally encompass the engineering tasks of vehicle testing and validation. With the advent of self-driving cars, new proving grounds specially dedicated for them have appeared, and existing conventional proving grounds have been retooled for the testing of highly automated or fully autonomous vehicles.

Automaker-owned

Independent

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