Al Dhafra Air Base
Al Dhafra Air Base
Al Dhafra Air Base | |||||||||||||||
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قاعدة الظفرة الجوية | |||||||||||||||
| Part of United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) | |||||||||||||||
| Located near: Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi | |||||||||||||||
 United Arab Emirate Airforce (UAEAF) F-16E taking off from Al Dhafra Air Base. | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°14′24″N 054°32′54″E [10] | ||||||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||||||
| Controlled by |  United Arab Emirates Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||||||
| Built | 1992 | ||||||||||||||
| In use | 1992 – present | ||||||||||||||
Al Dhafra Air Base قاعدة الظفرة الجوية | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | United Arab Emirates Air Force United States Air Force French Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Abu Dhabi, UAE | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Al Dhafra, UAE | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | UAE Standard Time (UTC+04:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 77 ft / 23 m | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  OMAM Location in the UAE | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Sources:[1] | |||||||||||||||
Al Dhafra Air Base (Arabic:قاعدة الظفرة الجوية) (IATA: DHF, ICAO: OMAM) is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of Abu Dhabi and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.
| Al Dhafra Air Base | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
قاعدة الظفرة الجوية | |||||||||||||||
| Part of United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) | |||||||||||||||
| Located near: Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi | |||||||||||||||
United Arab Emirate Airforce (UAEAF) F-16E taking off from Al Dhafra Air Base. | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°14′24″N 054°32′54″E [10] | ||||||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||||||
| Controlled by | United Arab Emirates Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||||||
| Built | 1992 | ||||||||||||||
| In use | 1992 – present | ||||||||||||||
Al Dhafra Air Base قاعدة الظفرة الجوية | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | United Arab Emirates Air Force United States Air Force French Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Abu Dhabi, UAE | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Al Dhafra, UAE | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | UAE Standard Time (UTC+04:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 77 ft / 23 m | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
OMAM Location in the UAE | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Sources:[1] | |||||||||||||||
Facilities
Hosted Units
The air base is the headquarters of the Western Air Command of the UAE Air Force. It hosts the UAE Air Force Fighter Wing, comprising the 1st Shaheen Squadron, 2nd Shaheen Squadron, and 3rd Shaheen Squadron (all equipped with F-16E/F Desert Falcon), and the 71st and 76th Fighter Squadrons (both with Mirage 2000-9EAD/DAD).
Current use
United States
The United States Air Force's 380th Air Expeditionary Wing (380 AEW) has a number of aircraft based here, including: Lockheed U-2S's,[2] McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extenders, Boeing E-3 Sentrys (AWACS) and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawks;[3] due to the military intervention against ISIL/ISIS, various other aircraft have been deployed there.[4]
The first USAF F-35 deployed to the Middle East was deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base.[5]
France
On 1 September 2008 the French Air Force opened their own military settlement within the northwest corner of the base operating Dassault Rafales and Boeing C-135FR Stratolifters.
Also due to the military intervention against ISIL/ISIS, the French have also deployed Breguet Atlantique II maritime patrol aircraft as part of Opération Chammal.[6]