Rota naval base
| Base Naval de Rota | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LERT |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 26 m (85 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 25 km west of Jerez de la Frontera |
| Basic data | |
| opening | September 26, 1953 |
| operator | Armada Española |
| surface | 2468 (24.68 km²) ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 10/28 | 3690 m × 60 m asphalt |
The Naval de Rota base of the Spanish Navy is located between the towns of Rota and El Puerto de Santa María on the north shore of the Bay of Cádiz . It has an area of 24.68 km² and is one of the largest naval bases in Europe. On the base are u. a. a military airfield with an area of 2.71 km² and port facilities with three piers.
In addition to the Armada of Spain, the base is also used by the United States Navy . The basis for this is an agreement concluded between the two states in the early days of the Cold War in 1953 , when Spain did not belong to NATO under Franco . The naval base is under a Spanish rear admiral . The external security of the base lies solely with Spain, but internally there is a joint military police of both nations. The US Navy occupies approximately 80% of the area of the base.
Since February 2014, the first of four Aegis warships of the US Navy has been stationed in Rota to protect Europe from nuclear missiles as part of the National Missile Defense . For this purpose, the base was modernized and expanded over a five-year construction period. In addition to land-side extensions, for which 60,000 m² of new land was wrested from the sea, Pier 1 was extended by 300 m and another, Pier 4, was rebuilt. An auxiliary pier was also built for smaller units, and RoRo ships can now also be loaded and unloaded.
Armada Española
The base is home to the following floating units of the Spanish fleet:
- Grupo de Acción Naval 1
- 41ª Escuadrilla de Escoltas with six frigates of the Santa María class
- Supply ships Patiño and Marqués de la Ensenada
- Grupo de Acción Naval 2 (COMGRUP 2)
Rota is the land base for all Armada aircraft. The Flotilla de Aeronaves , which is divided into six flying squadrons .
In addition to the flying and floating associations, Rota is the seat of various land services.
The US Navy naval base is part of the Spanish Navy base . The mission of the US base is to support the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, the Air Mobility Command and the Military Sealift Command's Maritime Prepositioning Squadrons. The USA also operates a hospital (US Naval Hospital Rota), 801 residential buildings, 426 other buildings, various shops, restaurants , a primary school ( David Glasgow Farragut Elementary School), a comprehensive school (David G. Farragut High School) and branch offices from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University , Navy College , Rota Community College, University of Maryland , David Glasgow Farragut Schools and University of Oklahoma . About 3000 people work and live on the base.
The following units are stationed here (selection):
- Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two (VQ-2)
- Air Mobility Support Squadron (AMSS)
- Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station (NCTAMS)
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service Resident Agency
- Naval European Meteorology and Oceanography Center (NEMOC)
- Naval Leader Training Unit
- Naval Legal Service Office (NLSO)
- Naval Media Center (NMC)
- Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB)
- Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA)
- four Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers : USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) , USS Ross (DDG 71) (both since 2014), USS Porter (DDG 78) and USS Carney (DDG 64) (both since 2015). Replacement planned from 2020, initially replacement of the USS Carney by the USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) .
The base is the headquarters of Commander, US Naval Activities Spain , in personal union Commanding Officer of Naval Station Rota. Military aircraft took off from Rota, among others, in order to conduct the international military operation in Libya in 2011 .
In 1992 the naval base airfield was a possible emergency landing site for the space shuttle in the event of an aborted take-off.
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.med.navy.mil US Naval Hospital Rota. Accessed April 17, 2011.
- ↑ www.cnic.navy.mil Installation Directory. Accessed April 17, 2011.
- ↑ www.cnic.navy.mil About Rota. Accessed April 17, 2011.
- ↑ STS-49 Press Kit. NASA, May 1992, accessed on September 14, 2011 (English): “Loss of one or more main engines midway through powered flight would force a landing at either Ben Guerir, Morroco; Moron, Spain; or Rota, Spain "