Florennes Air Base is a

Belgian Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

military airfield located east southeast of

Florennes Florennes (; wa, Florene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 1 January 2006, Florennes has a total population of 10,754. The total area is 133.55 km² which gives a population density of 81 inhabita ...

, a Walloon municipality of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It is home to the

2nd Tactical Wing The 2nd Tactical Wing ( nl, 2 Tactische Wing, french: 2 Wing Tactique) is a wing in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces based at Florennes air base Florennes Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located east southea ...

, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons. It also used to be the home to the

Tactical Leadership Programme TLP, in English and officially Tactical Leadership Programme, also known as the Pilot School of NATO, is an international military organization formed by 10 permanent member countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, ...

(TLP), a joint training program formed by ten

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

members. On July 31, 2009, TLP moved to

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Units

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

fighter units operated from here, including

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

and

Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

night fighters, and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 day fighters. It was captured in September 1944, after which Allied units operating from here included the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

's 430th Fighter Squadron, flying Lockheed Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in the ground attack role, and the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron, flying

Northrop P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night figh ...

s. From 1984 to 1990, the US Air Force 485th Tactical Missile Wing was located at Florennes, deploying the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile system, which were removed in 1989 as part of the

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

. Currently, two fighter squadrons operate out of Florennes air base. 1 Squadron, which was started in 1917 and 350 Squadron, founded in the UK in 1942 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Both units fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Notable incidents

On 11 October 2018 a Belgian Air Force F-16 caught fire during maintenance works at the base. The fire, reportedly caused by the accidental firing of a canon, completely destroyed that aircraft. A second F-16 received collateral damage.

References

External links

*
Tactical Leadership Programme

Belgian Defence Force (French & Dutch)

485th Tactical Missile Wing

Belgian airbases Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Belgium World War II airfields in Belgium Airports in Namur (province) Airports established in 1936 Florennes {{Namur-geo-stub

Units

Notable incidents

See also

References

External links