Beja Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Beja; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11) is one of the most important

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

s in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, northwest of Beja, north of

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

. It is used by the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

(PoAF) and has two parallel runways in the 01/19 direction, the biggest being . The base is home to two training squadrons, one helicopter squadron and one maritime patrol squadron.

History

The base was established on 21 October 1964, originally built to serve as a training facility for the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

(Luftwaffe), due to airspace limitations within

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Air Forces Monthly, p. 36. The Luftwaffe operated from the airbase until 1993, during which period it was used particularly for weapons training. In 1987 the Portuguese Air Force's 103 Squadron using Lockheed T-33 and

Northrop T-38 The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...

aircraft was relocated from Montijo. After their arrival, the base started to host a mixed array of fixed and rotary-wing trainers, as well as maritime patrol aircraft. From 1993 to present, the PoAF has operated

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...

aircraft from the airbase, which were donated by Germany as compensation for leaving the air base in 1993.

Current state

The base is now modern and well-equipped, employing around 1,000 personnel. It comprises two parallel runways running north–south (01L/19R, 01R/19L, the largest being in length and the other long. A third parallel runway/taxiway supports its helicopter facilities. Beja Air Base is one of the most important training facilities of the PoAF and during 2008 operated over 70,000 flying hours.Air Forces Monthly, p. 38. The first training phase comprises flying on Socata TB 30 Epsilon aircraft, which currently has 15 operational aircraft.Air Forces Monthly, p. 39. The 552 Squadron operates 5

AgustaWestland AW119 Koala The AgustaWestland AW119 Koala, produced by Leonardo since 2016, is an eight-seat utility helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine produced for the civil market. Introduced as the Agusta A119 Koala prior to the Agusta-Westland merger, i ...

helicopters tasked with tactical transport for the army, helicopter pilot training and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. The 601 Squadron currently uses 5 P-3C Orion Cup + aircraft which provide 24/7 search and rescue and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

cover.Air Forces Monthly, p. 41. Construction of a civilian terminal was undertaken in 2009, with this facility being aimed at

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

s.Air Forces Monthly, p. 37. Beja's runway is the only mainland Portugal runway capable of accommodating an

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

. The Portuguese wet lease airline Hi Fly previously operated its A380, purchased second-hand in 2018, from Beja.

Tenant units

;

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

* 101 Sqn. - TB30 Epsilon * 103 Sqn. "''Caracóis''" (Snails) — complementary flying training and operational transition training * 552 Sqn. "''Zangões''" (Drones) — tactical air transport operations and complementary flying training in helicoptersAir Forces Monthly, p. 40. * 601 Sqn. "''Lobos''" (Wolves) — maritime patrol squadron

Notes

References

*''Base Tour: Beja, Portugal - Portuguese Super Base'', Air Forces Monthly magazine, March 2009 issue.

External links

Portuguese Air Force - Air Base 11, Beja

Empresa de Desenvolvimento do Aeroporto de Beja
{{authority control Airports in Portugal Buildings and structures in Beja, Portugal Portuguese Air Force bases Germany–Portugal relations Military of Portugal Military installations in Portugal