The number of US overseas military bases is a variable with rather fuzzy criteria. Independent analysts cite a list of 865 Pentagon facilities on all continents of the Earth - excluding secret CIA prisons, military bases of allied countries and potential options for deploying personnel, equipment and equipment on the territory of third countries (such as the Jordanian H-4 airbase, provided by the US Air Force during Operation Desert Storm or a transport hub at Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport).
Air war is the basis of US global hegemony. To gain air superiority, there are few lethal F-15 Eagles, the all-seeing E-3 Sentry and the mighty C-5 Galaxy. For the basing of aircraft, hundreds of first-class air bases with many kilometers of runways and corresponding infrastructure are required.
I invite readers to take a virtual tour of the most famous US Air Force bases outside North America.
Thule Air Base - Greenland
The northernmost US air base, located 1,500 kilometers from the North Pole, is a key point of air defense during the Cold War. From here, strategic B-52s with thermonuclear bombs on board flew on combat patrols (Operation Chromium Dome), the F-102 Delta Dagger supersonic interceptors were based here and early warning radars of missile attack were installed.
In 1958, in the vicinity of the airbase, the implementation of the fantastic Ice Worm project began - the construction of 600 missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet. According to the plan, the length of the tunnels was to reach 4000 km; fully autonomous underground base with a nuclear power plant and its own social infrastructure. Like any utopian project, the "Ice Worm" ended in failure - the movement of glaciers irreversibly destroyed the tunnels built.
Another unique event brought world fame to Thule - in 1968, during the landing approach, a B-52 with a nuclear weapon on board crashed here. The strategic bomber fell on the ice of the North Star Bay 11 kilometers from the airbase runway - the impact caused the detonation of the fuses of all four bombs, and the burning fuel melted through the multi-meter ice - the radioactive debris went to the bottom. The liquidation of a monstrous ecological catastrophe began - according to official data, it was possible to find the tritium tanks of all bombs, one practically whole uranium shell and debris corresponding in mass to two more. The fate of the fourth bomb's uranium core remains unknown.
The crash site of the B-52G. Ice blackened with soot is visible, in the upper part of the image there is a 50-meter ice hole
Ramstein Air Base - Germany
The famous airbase, designed by French engineers and built using gratuitous German labor from the American occupation zone. It has been actively exploited since 1952.
Ramstein is part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which, in addition to the airbase, includes the largest military hospital in Europe, Landstuhl, training grounds, barracks and storage facilities of the US army, a small Kapaun airbase, a nuclear arsenal, and an underground command center of the joint air defense system of NATO countries. Currently, more than 50 thousand American military and civilian specialists and 6 thousand German personnel are stationed here.
Ramstein became world famous for the eerie performance of the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori - three planes collided in the air at the Flugtag 88 air show. One of the crippled cars at high speed collapsed right into the crowd of spectators, 70 people died in the fiery hell, another 350 were seriously injured.
Currently, Ramstein is a key staging post for the US Airmobile Command; 16 squadrons of military transport aircraft of the 86th Air Wing are constantly deployed at the air base.
In addition, there are three other American airbases on the territory of Germany: Büchel, Geilenkirchen and Spangdalen. [/I]
August 28, 1988 After the tragedy in Germany, a ban on air shows was introduced for 3 years
Mildenhall Air Base - UK
An old British airfield, built back in 1934. In 1950, the Yankees appeared here and a real frenzy began - assessing the favorable position of the "unsinkable aircraft carrier", the US Air Force immediately deployed an air wing of strategic bombers with nuclear weapons on Mildenhall, as well as a couple of squadrons of tankers and reconnaissance vehicles. The skies in Foggy Albion were buzzing with B-52s, Stratotankers and SR-71 Blackbirds.
At the moment, the 100th aircraft wing of the US Air Force air tankers, aircraft of the Special Operations Command (MC-130 aircraft and MC-53 heavy helicopters), RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, as well as E-4 air command posts (based on a passenger Boeing -747).
In addition to Mildenhall, there are several other official US Air Force bases in the UK:
- Faaford (home of B-52 strategic bombers);
- Lakenheath (home of F-15E fighter-bombers);
- Alconbury (the location of the 501st combat support wing);
- and also airbases Crawton, Feltwell, Flyingdales, Minwit Hill, Molesworth and Welford …
A squadron of "Stratotankers" taxiing for takeoff
Air Command Post of the United States Secretary of Defense at Mildenhall AFB
Kadena Air Base - Japan
The legendary super-airbase on the island of Okinawa is a symbol of the subjugation and humiliation of Japan. For the Land of the Rising Sun, the Kadena airbase is like an awl in a famous place - for almost 70 years the debate about its closure has not stopped. Ethno-banditism and atrocities of the American military contingent add fuel to the fire, after each resonant incident, parents are afraid to let their children go outside, hundreds of thousands of demonstrations are raging under the walls of the airbase, the Japanese government is protesting and somehow uncertainly, with a trembling voice, calls for the immediate elimination of Kadena.
As if teasing the Japanese, the Americans responded by equipping a second Misawa airbase in the north of the island of Honshu (50 F-16 fighters and several squadrons of naval base aviation are based here), a third Yokota airbase (refuellers and aircraft of the Airmobile Command) and a fourth Futemma airbase for basing aviation of the Marine Corps. infantry.
On the technical side, Kadena is a first-class airfield with two concrete runways with a length of 3,700 meters, built in 1945 using free labor from occupied Japan. Currently, the 18th Air Wing, the largest and most powerful tactical formation of the US Air Force, is permanently based here, armed to the teeth with F-22 Raptor fighters and AWACS E-3 Sentry aircraft. The main specialization is air combat.
Rank F-15
F-22 from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. After a 10-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean
Inzhirlik Air Base - Turkey
Smooth as an arrow, the three-kilometer "concrete" Inzhirlik is visible from afar. A large American base, built in the early 1950s, became one of the main characters of the Cold War - the close proximity to the borders of the Soviet Union, as well as the favorable location in relation to Iraq, Syria and the entire Arab-Israeli conflict zone turned Inzhirlik into a priceless treasure. United States Air Force.
From here they made their reconnaissance flights EC-130 and U-2, with the help of their air base, the Americans continuously "monitored" the situation in the Middle East, Inzhirlik provided the entire northern sector of Operation Desert Storm, served as a reference point during the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.
To date, a 3048-meter runway and 57 protected aircraft hangars and caponiers made of reinforced concrete have been erected at the Inzhirlik airbase, the 39th Air Wing of the US Air Force is constantly based here, Inzhirlik is actively used by the Turkish Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Great Britain.
In addition to the Inzhirlik airbase, there is a large American naval / air base Izmir and a military transport terminal in Ankara on the territory of Turkey.
Diego Garcia - Indian Ocean
Not so long ago, domestic media published intriguing news about the planned opening of a Russian naval base in the Seychelles. Unfortunately, the press service of the Ministry of Defense immediately denied this "stupid information". But in vain. After all, the Americans have long been equipped with a cool facility in this paradise of the planet - a military base on the Chagos archipelago, 250 miles south of the Maldives.
In 1965, Great Britain bought the paradise island of Diego Garcia from Mauritius for £ 3 million, intending to use it as a reference point for its overseas territories in the Indian Ocean. Times were turbulent - one after another, the African countries gained independence, the disagreements between India and Pakistan did not stop for a minute, the navy of the Soviet Union persistently poured into the Indian Ocean …
It is not surprising that a year later the Yankees appeared on the island of Diego Garcia. The American military liked the wonderful climate, white sand and endless blue ocean so much that they still sit there and are not going to go anywhere. The place for the base, as usual, was taken free of charge - in exchange for a discount on the purchase of American nuclear weapons, the UK signed a 50-year gratuitous lease (+ another 20 years in the form of an additional agreement) - in total, until 2036, Americans were able to relax in one of the most beautiful corners of the Earth.
Having concluded a lucrative contract, the Yankees began to nimbly turn the island into a real military fort. The entire local population was kicked out of the island even under the British. In the middle of the jungle Diego Garcia was equipped with a concrete strip 3650 meters long, capable of receiving strategic bombers B-52 and B-1B "Lancer", currently under construction of defenses for basing stealth aircraft B-2.
The lagoon was not spared - among the coral reefs, 20 parking spaces for the transport of the Marine Transportation Command were equipped.
Diego Garcia airbase plays a special role in conducting military operations in the Middle East, a convenient place for basing strategic aviation, in addition, Diego Garcia controls sea communications in the Arabian Sea and throughout the Indian Ocean.
Emergency landing of B-1B on the fuselage
Kandahar Air Base - Afghanistan
The next notable object is the Kandahar International Airport, built in the late 1950s. The only civilized place in the middle of the endless stone wastelands of the Registan Desert.
On January 2, 1980, the Soviet landing took control of a strategically important facility, and for the next 9 years of the war, Kandahar airport served as an important stronghold in southern Afghanistan, where the military transport and combat aviation of the 40th Army was based.
In the 1990s, Kandahar became the main base of the Taliban movements, and in 2001, the Americans came here. During the fighting, the airport was seriously damaged - the restoration of the runway and airfield infrastructure took six years.
At the moment, Kandahar International, along with the Kabul International Airport and the Shindad and Bagram airbases, are the main points of deployment of the International Coalition's troops in Afghanistan. Kandahar is home to the 451st US Air Force Expeditionary Wing, several NATO aviation units and a dozen infantry aircraft from the Afghan Air Force.
Despite the military presence and millions of antipersonnel mines in the vicinity (Soviet troops, enraged by the constant attacks of the Mujahideen, densely "seeded" all approaches to the airport with "frog" mines from helicopters) - Kandahar International is still carrying out civilian activities, flights of nine foreign airlines arrive here from Iran, UAE, USA, Bahrain and even from Azerbaijan (Silk Road cargo carrier)!
UAV MQ-9 Reaper. Hellfire missile launcher and laser-guided bomb are visible on the sling
Airbase Manas - Kyrgyzstan
If the NATO invasion of Afghanistan seemed commonplace (someone even secretly triumphed - the Yankees are repeating the USSR's mistake), then the soldiers in American uniforms at the Manas airbase came as a real shock to the Russian public. Never before had the Yankees made their way so deep into Central Asia. What do they want? Where will their next base be?
In 2001, the Kyrgyz government, in exchange for some financial assistance, agreed to provide a portion of Manas International Airport for the needs of the US Air Force. Having gained access to the Kyrgyz airport, the Americans zealously set to work: they equipped new barracks for military personnel, provided the soldiers with international telephone communications, and wireless Internet. They built a dining room, brought in a library. Manas was almost renamed Ganci Air Base (in honor of a firefighter who died in the September 11 attacks).
A few years later, problems began: in December 2006, an American soldier Zachary Hatfield, "addicted" to drugs, shot Alexander Ivanov (a driver who worked at Manas airport). There were rumors among local residents that the cause of the destruction of the gardens in the vicinity of Bishkek was the result of uncontrolled fuel discharge from the C-17 “Globalmaster” transports approaching for landing. Under public pressure, the Kyrgyz authorities demanded the withdrawal of American troops. In vain. The Pentagon paid $ 117 million - and the base exists to this day. To make it less audible, it was renamed the Manas Transit Center.
By the way, there is an assumption that, in addition to military transport aircraft, there are electronic intelligence systems installed at the Manas airbase, capable of listening to radio communications in most of western China and Central Asia and Siberia.
Al Dhafra Air Base - United Arab Emirates
Forward Air Force Base 250 km off the coast of Iran. From here, TR-1 reconnaissance flights (modern versions of the legendary U-2 Dragon Lady) regularly fly - rising to an altitude of 20 kilometers, they slowly soar along the borders of Iran, tracking all movements on the other side of the Iranian border. The hot air of the Arab East is abuzz with the engines of drones and early warning aircraft E-3 "Sentry", Al-Dhafra air base - a key hub for US reconnaissance aircraft in the region.
Last year, an F-22 Raptor squadron was deployed here to cover the airbase. Fearing a sudden Iranian raid on the "peacefully sleeping airfield", a Patriot air defense system battery is deployed here, and in addition to long-range anti-aircraft missiles, the base airspace is guarded by automatic Falanx anti-aircraft guns on mobile trailers.
Dressed in a spacesuit, the U-2 pilot sees nothing on takeoff but a narrow strip of sky.
The pilot is assisted by assistants from a rushing car behind
Gary Powers Jr.
