Ämari Air Base

Ämari Air Base
Ämari Air Base
Keila, Harju County in Estonia
	Insignia of Ämari Air Base
	Ämari Shown within Estonia Ämari Ämari (Europe)
Coordinates	59°15′44″N 024°13′07″E / 59.26222°N 24.21861°E
Site information
Owner	Estonian Defence Forces
Operator	Estonian Air Force
Site history
In use	1945 - present
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: EEEI
Elevation	20 metres (66 ft) AMSL
Runways
06/24	2,750 metres (9,022 ft) Asphalt/Concrete
	Sources: Estonian AIP

Ämari Air Base ^{[note 1]} (ICAO: EEEI) is a military airbase in Harjumaa, Estonia located 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Lake Klooga and 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) southwest of Tallinn.^[1]

History

Ämari Air Base was built between 1940–1952 under an agreement signed by the Estonian SSR and the Soviet Union. In 1945, the USSR Ministry of Defense established a naval reserve airfield of its Baltic Fleet there, where the amphibious seaplanes of the 69th Long-Range Reconnaissance Regiment Catalina PBY-5A and the escort fighter jets Yak-9P began to be based. It became the main airport of the units located in Ämari in 1952. At Vietnum War Ämari Air Base was a training base of Soviet pilot to fly MiG-15, MiG-15bis, Mig-17 and MiG-19 before deplayment in Vietnum as a advisor pilots and deployment to Arab countries for war against Israel. After 1975 the base get replaced obsolit MiGs for Su assalt plains. Later, Ämari was home to 321 and/or 170 MShAP (321st and/or 170th Naval Shturmovik Aviation Regiment) flying Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft.^[2] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Air Force continued to administer Ämari Air Base until it was handed over to Estonia in 1994.

The Estonian Air Force Air Surveillance Wing was created on 1 January 1998 and is located at the Ämari Air Base.

After Estonia's accession to NATO in 2004, Ämari Air Base was made NATO interoperable. NATO aircraft have been stationed at the base since 2014.^[3]

Current use

Since April 2014, Ämari Air Base has hosted NATO Baltic Air Policing patrols.^[4] On 30 April 2014 this mission began with the arrival of four Danish F-16s.^[5]

During 2015 it was announced that the aerial assets from the American Operation Atlantic Resolve would be based there.^[6]

In September 2015, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighters visited Ämari.^[7]

References and notes

References

^ ^a ^b "eAIP Estonia". Estonian Air Navigation Services (ANS). Retrieved 2016-07-27.
^ "Aviatsiya VMF". Aviabaza KPOI.
^ "Estonia". CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^ "Augmenting Baltic Air Policing Nations hand over responsibility". NATO. 2016.
^ "NATO opens an air base in Estonia". estonianworld.com. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2015. p. 15.
^ Glorious photos of US F-22 fighter jets arriving in Russia's backyard in Business Insider, published September 2015

Notes

^ Also given in references as Suurküla (original Estonian name), Vasalemma, Emari, Suurkyul, Shuurkyul, and Shuurkul - last forms of the Estonian names are derivates of names Russian-speaking military personnel used when it was used by the Soviet military."