Al Jufra Airbase is a
Libyan Air Force
The Libyan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,00 ...
base in Waddan, northeast of
Hun, a desert city in the
Jufra District
Jufra or Jofra ( ar, الجفرة, Al Jufrah) is one of the districts of Libya. It is in the centre of the country. Its capital is Hun. Jufra was originally one of the 25 baladiya in the administrative system of Libya established in 1988. In 200 ...
of
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
. It was originally used by the Libyan Arab Air Force from 1969 to 2011.
The runway length does not include paved overruns on each end.
The Hon
non-directional beacon
A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are i ...
(Ident: HON) is located southwest of the airport.
History
Prior to the
First Libyan Civil War
The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libya ...
, during the 1980s, the No. 1025 Squadron operated
Mig-25PDs at the Al Jufra-Hun Airbase for defense of the north coast.
TU-22
The Tupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with the Soviet military in the 1960s.
The aircraft was a disappointme ...
,
G.222, and
An-26
The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...
were based at Jufra, parked on open pavement, sand berm shielded pads, and in aircraft shelters. Considering the positioning of many of the aircraft visible in the satellite imagery, and what is known of the maintenance record of the
Libyan Air Force
The Libyan Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الليبية) is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,00 ...
, the operational inventory of combat aircraft based at Jufra in 2011 can be assumed to be quite low. The G.222 is believed to have not flown for more than a decade.
No-Fly Zone enforcement
The airbase was bombed on 24 March 2011 by French aircraft, in accordance with the UN-backed enforcement of the No-Fly Zone over Libya. Over two and a half months later, on 13 June, the area was again struck by NATO forces.
Strike on Libyan airbase
''Irish Times''
See also
*Transport in Libya
Railways
Libya has had no railway in operation since 1965, all previous narrow gauge lines having been dismantled. Plans for a new network have been under development for some time (earthworks were begun between Sirte and Ras Ajdir, Tunisia bord ...
*List of airports in Libya
List of airports in Libya sorted by location.
__TOC__
Airports
Airport names shown in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines.
, - valign=top
, Bani Walid
,
,
, Bani Walid Airport
, - valign=top
, ...
References
External links
OpenStreetMap - Al Jufra Air Base
OurAirports - Al Jufrah Airport
Airports in Libya
Military installations of Libya
Libyan Air Force bases
{{libya-geo-stub