Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base

Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base
Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base
قاعدة أحمد الجابر الجوية
Ahmadi Governorate in Kuwait
	A Kuwait Air Force KAF-18C Hornet of the type based at Ahmad al-Jaber AB.
	Ahmad al-Jaber AB Location in Kuwait
Coordinates	28°56′05.7″N 47°47′31.1″E / 28.934917°N 47.791972°E
Type	Kuwait Air Force base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defense
Operator	Kuwait Air Force
Condition	Operational
Garrison information
Garrison	Fighter Squadrons (Kuwait Air Force); 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing (US Air Force);
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: XIJ, ICAO: OKAJ
Elevation	124 metres (407 ft) AMSL
Runways
15L/33R	3,000 metres (9,843 ft)
15R/33L	3,000 metres (9,843 ft)

Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base (IATA: XIJ, ICAO: OKAJ) is a Kuwait Air Force base that is home to 3 Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 C/D squadrons: 9 Squadron, 25 Squadron, and 61 Squadron. The base also has an area designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies.

History

Invasion of Kuwait

When Iraq launched its invasion in 1990 on Kuwait, Iraqi Air Force jets dropped air-scattered mines, preventing operations on the runways. This led to the Kuwaiti Air Force Mirage F1s and A-4 Skyhawks having to land on a road nearby.^[1]

Lead up to the Gulf War

After the invasion, the US, which was preparing for Operation Desert Storm, feared that al-Jaber housed Iraqi chemical weapons mainly because the Iraqi army had deployed 30 howitzers and used the Kuwaiti hardened concrete hangars at al-Jaber for munitions storage. These howitzers, known as GHN-45, were notable for being preferred for chemical munition delivery by the Iraqis.^[2]

1991 Gulf War

During the 1991 Gulf War, coalition aircraft attacked Ahmad al-Jaber Airbase several times due to the chemical munitions storage rumors. They also dropped anti-personnel mines to impede base operations.^[2] On the first night of the war at around 4:00 AM, three A-6E TRAM Intruder from VA-115 Eagles (Carrier Air Wing 5) based on the USS Midway attacked the airbase with six Mk.83 bombs each.^[3]^[4] Later that morning at 8:50 AM, 12 French Air Force SEPECAT Jaguars from EC 2/11 Vosges attacked Al-Jaber with no less than four aircraft sustaining damage (three were hit by IR-SAMs and one by small arms fire) although all returned safely.^[5]

As of 2022, satellite images show aircraft Hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) still unrepaired throughout the air base ^[6]

Post War use

On 1 December 1998, the 4406th Operations Group (Provisional) at Al-Jaber Air Base was inactivated and the 332nd Air Expeditionary Group activated.^[7] Sitting 75 miles south of the Iraqi border, the base has supported active duty United States Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter units, along with support individuals, rotated in and out. At Al-Jaber AB, the 332 ELS Commander and 10 personnel were on one-year tours; all others (1190 personnel) rotated every 90 to 120 days.

According to USA Today, on 22 October 2003, the US Ambassador to Kuwait, Richard Jones, announced that the United States was reducing its presence at Al-Jaber to fully reduce its forces at that location. USAF assets remaining in Kuwait are primarily stationed at Ali Al Salem Air Base.

The U.S. side of the base was re-opened around July 2010 in support of Operation New Dawn.

The U.S. side of the base was re-opened in 2014 sometime before October.^{[citation needed]}

From 22 November 2014 four Panavia Tornados from 6º Stormo of the Italian Air Force deployed there for an unknown amount of time^[8] along with a Boeing KC-767A from 14º Stormo.^[9]

Between 15 October 2014 and 30 September 2015, the Royal Danish Air Force deployed seven General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcons with four being operational and three others in a reserve capacity.^[10]

Role and operations

Kuwait Air Force

The base is home to the Kuwait Air Force's entire fighter/attack aircraft fleet. Two front-line (9 Squadron and 25 Squadron) and one training unit (61 Squadron) operate a fleet of McDonnell Douglas KAF-18C/D Hornets.^[11] The aircraft is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft.