Besmer Air Force Base
| Bezmer Air Base 22 Schturmowa Awiazionna Basa (22nd SchtAB) |
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| Characteristics | |||
| ICAO code | LBIA | ||
| IATA code | JAM | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Height above MSL | 155 m (509 ft ) | ||
| Transport links | |||
| Distance from the city center | 10 km west of Yambol | ||
| Street | 13 km to the 
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| Basic data | |||
| operator | Bulgarian Air Force | ||
| Start-and runway | |||
| 12/30 | 2497 m × 79 m concrete | ||
The Besmer Air Base ( Bulgarian Авиобаза Безмер ) is a Bulgarian military airfield of the Bulgarian Air Force . The 22nd attack base , 22 Shturmowa Aviobasa , 22 Щурмова авиобаза (22nd SchtAB, 22 ЩАБ), is located between the villages of Besmer and Boljarsko, about 30 km southeast of Sliven not far from the Sofia - Burgas railway in the Yambol Oblast in the Upper Thracian Plain . The eponymous village of Besmer takes its name from Knjas Besmer, who is better known under the name Batbajan (7th century AD).
In addition, the airfield serves as one of several military bases of the United States in Bulgaria under the name Bezmer Air Base .
history
The region's strategic location and particularly favorable weather conditions were already appreciated during the First World War , when the German Imperial Air Force built a zeppelin base in Yambol, which they used for reconnaissance and bombing flights to Romania , Russia , Sudan and Malta .
In 1955, the 22nd Fighter Regiment was stationed at the Besmer Air Base, which was later converted into the 22nd Fighter Bombing Regiment of the Bulgarian Air Force . This earlier flew fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft of types Su-22М-4 and UM-3K, and then Su-25 - attack aircraft .
As part of the Partnership for Peace , Bulgarian military personnel and aircraft took part in joint military exercises in Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and France (exercises: Cooperative Key; Immediate Response 2005, Immediate Response 2006).
Todays use
The Besmer Air Force Base has a modern communication, information and navigation system. A second modernization phase and the improvement of the infrastructure have started - including an extension of the runway so that even heavier types of aircraft can take off and land.
Today, a squadron of Su-25K / UBK ground attack aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force, the 1/22 Shturmova Avio Eskadrila, is still stationed in Besmer .
The USA also uses the airfield. Some experts rank Besmer among the six most important US bases outside the USA .
Besmer and Adjacent Regions: A Guide to the American Military
Location of the Besmer Air Force Base
