Kleine Brogel military airfield
Vliegbasis Kleine-Brogel | |
---|---|
Characteristics | |
ICAO code | EBBL |
Coordinates | |
Height above MSL | 61 m (200 ft ) |
Transport links | |
Distance from the city center | 3 km north of Peer |
Street | N747 |
Basic data | |
opening | 1945 |
operator | Belg. Air Force |
surface | 450 ha |
Runways | |
05L / 23R | 3096 m × 45 m asphalt |
05R / 23L | 2400 m × 23 m asphalt |
The Kleine-Brogel air base is a military airfield of the Belgian air component . The base is in the Flanders region in the Limburg province in the Kleine-Brogel district of Peer . It is a NATO base that is used by the Belgian Air Force as well as the United States Air Force (USAF).
history
The Kleine Brogel airfield was built as Airfield B.90 in the final phase of the Second World War in early 1945 by the Western Allies to support the further advance on German Reich territory , especially the Rhine crossing . After the start of the Cold War , the base was expanded in the early 1950s and taken over by the Belgian Air Force in 1953.
The base subsequently became the home of the 10th Squadron ( 10th Wing ). This flew in the subsequent years, initially parallel, the T-33A and by 1965, the F-84E / G / F . Between June 1964 and September 1983 the F / TF-104G was the main operational model before it was replaced by the F-16A / B in 1982 . In addition to the squadrons that now belong to the 10th squadron, the 349th only since 1996, the 23rd squadron also belonged to it until its dissolution in 2001.
The NATO Tiger Meet , the 31st season is a " Tiger Association " (see photo below), took place seven times in Kleine Brogel between 1963 and most recently in 2009, more often than in any other place.
Todays use
The Kleine Brogel base is home to the 10th Tactical Wing ( 10th Tactical Wing ), which today (2012) is equipped with two squadrons (31st and 349th) and an F-16A / B MLU conversion unit .
In her will since 1984 nuclear warheads stored by the 701st Munitions Support Squadron ( MUNSS ) of USAFE , administratively to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem be guarded under standing.
The Belgian Foreign Minister participated in a 2010 letter to NATO and the US calling for the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from various European countries.
An open day is organized once a year as part of the nationwide Belgian Air Force Days .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans M. Kristensen: Kleine Brogel Nukes: Not There, Over Here! In: Federation of American Scientists. February 12, 2010, accessed November 20, 2016 .
- ^ William M. Arkin: America's Nuclear Weapons in Europe Are the Nuclear Elephant in the Room. In: Vice News. March 31, 2016, accessed November 20, 2016 .
- ↑ Goodbye nuclear participation? In: Deutschlandfunk. April 19, 2010, accessed November 20, 2016 .
- ^ Belgian Air Force Days. In: Belgian Air Force. Retrieved November 20, 2016 .