Al Dhafra Air Base
| Al Dhafra Air Base | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
قاعدة الظفرة الجوية | |||||||||
| Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates | |||||||||
 A United Arab Emirates Air Force F-16E Desert Falcon of the type based at Al Dhafra AB. | |||||||||
 Emblem of the United Arab Emirates Air Force | |||||||||
  Al Dhafra AB Location in the United Arab Emirates | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°14′24″N 054°32′54″E / 24.24000°N 54.54833°E | ||||||||
| Type | UAE Air Force base | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | United Arab Emirates Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Operator | United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Western Air Command | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1983 | ||||||||
| In use | 1983 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison |
| ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: DHF, ICAO: OMAM | ||||||||
| Elevation | 23 metres (75 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Sources: World Aero Data[1] | |||||||||
Al Dhafra Air Base (Arabic:قاعدة الظفرة الجوية) (IATA: DHF, ICAO: OMAM) is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of Abu Dhabi and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of 77 ft (23 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways, 13L/31R and 13R/31L, each having an asphalt surface measuring 3,661 m × 46 m (12,011 ft × 151 ft).[1]
Role and operations
United Arab Emirates Air Force
The air base is the headquarters of the Western Air Command of the United Arab Emirates Air Force. It hosts the UAE Air Force Fighter Wing, comprising the 1st Shaheen Squadron, 2nd Shaheen Squadron, and 3rd Shaheen Squadron which are equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-16E/F Desert Falcon). The base is also home to the 71st and 76th Fighter Squadrons which operate the Dassault Mirage 2000-9EAD/DAD.
Military intervention against ISIL
United States
Al Dhafra hosts the United States Air Force's 380th Air Expeditionary Wing (380 AEW), which was established at the base on 25 January 2002.[2] The 380 AEW's mission is to carry out combat operations to provide high-altitude all-weather intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, airborne command and control and air-refueling for the military intervention against ISIL/ISIS (known by the US military as Operation Inherent Resolve) and NATO led operations in Afghanistan (Operation Resolute Support).[2] The wing is known to have operated the F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-22A Raptor, KC-10A Extender, E-3 Sentry (AWACS) U-2S Dragon Lady and EQ-4 and RQ-4 Global Hawk.[3][4][2] The first USAF F-35 Lightning II deployed to the Middle East was deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base in April 2019.[5]
The US military presence at the base was only acknowledged officially by the US Air Force in August 2017, despite the US military being present since the early 1990s.[6]
France
On 1 September 2008 the French Air Force opened their own military settlement within the northwest corner of the base operating Dassault Mirage 2000-5Fs.[7]
Also due to the military intervention against ISIL/ISIS, the French have also deployed Breguet Atlantique II maritime patrol aircraft as part of Opération Chammal.[8]
Based units
Notable units based at Al Dhafra Air Base.
United Arab Emirates Air Force
Western Air Command
- Fighter Wing[9]
- 71 Squadron – Mirage 2000-9EAD/9DAD
- 76 Squadron – Mirage 2000-9EAD/9DAD
- 1st Shaheen Squadron – F-16E/F Desert Falcon
- 2nd Shaheen Squadron – F-16E/F Desert Falcon
- 3rd Shaheen Squadron – F-16E/F Desert Falcon
French Air and Space Force
(Al Dhafra 'Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Pijeaud' Air Base)
- Escadron de Chasse 1/7 Provence with the Dassault Rafale[10] from June 2016.[7]
- Previously
- Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes with the Dassault Mirage 2000-5F (2008-2010)[7]
- Escadron de Chasse 3/30 Lorraine with the Rafale (2010-2016)[7]
- Previously
United States Air Force
- US Air Forces Central Command
- Air Forces Central Air Warfare Center[11]
- 380th Air Expeditionary Wing[2][12][13]
- 380th Expeditionary Operations Group
- Various Expeditionary Fighter Squadrons – F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-22 Raptor, F-35A Lightning II
- 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron – U-2 Dragon Lady
- 380th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron
- 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron – KC-10A Extender
- 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron – E-3 Sentry
- 380th Air Expeditionary Maintenance Group
- 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron
- 380th Air Expeditionary Mission Support Group
- 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Communications Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Contracting Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron
- 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron
- 380th Air Expeditionary Medical Group
- 380th Expeditionary Operations Group
- 1st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Group[14]
- 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron
- 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron
The 380th AEW is also known to operate the EQ-4B and RQ-4B Global Hawk.
United States Army
References
- ^ a b Airport information for OMAM Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ a b c d "380th Air Expeditionary Wing". US Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. September 2014. p. 7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. May 2015. p. 56.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ The National (17 April 2019). "US Air Force sends next generation fighter jets to UAE".
- ^ Pawlyk, Oriana (28 August 2017). "Air Force Acknowledges Clandestine Base in UAE". Military.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. February 2021. p. 14.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2014. p. 4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "Armed Forces Overviews – United Arab Emirates Air Force". Scramble. Scramble / Dutch Aviation Society. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Chiffres clés de l'Armée de l'air - L'Armée de l'air en chiffres : 2019-2020 (FR)". French Air and Space Force. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs (19 June 2019). "Al Dhafra welcomes new Air Warfare Center commander". US Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Thornbury, Staff Sgt. Chris (27 October 2019). "Refueling the refuelers". U.S. Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Ford, Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn A. (18 July 2019). "380 AEW AWACS provide the big picture to combatant commanders". US Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Cannady, Tech. Sgt. Darnell T. (29 December 2018). "REDHORSE and Prime BEEF building up ADAB". US Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ Cannady, Tech. Sgt. Darnell T. (13 February 2019). "1-43 ADA defends ADAB's skies". US Air Forces Central Command. US Air Force. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
External links
- Al Dhafra Air Base at GlobalSecurity.org
- Current weather for OMAM at NOAA/NWS
- Al Dhafra Air Base at OSGEOINT
