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Kuçovë Air Base is an
Construction of the air base began in 1952 and was completed in 1955.
During the 1997 crisis, Kuçovë Air Base was captured by rebels. The damage caused by the protesters was not repaired until 1999.
From 2002 to 2004 the base was renovated to NATO standards. Improvements included a new control tower, new lighting, and repaving.
In 2004, Albania announced plans to scrap 80 obsolete aircraft in an effort to modernize for NATO membership. The aircraft being scrapped included
SpaceDaily, 2018-08-05 One feature of Kuçovë Air Base is the mountain storage area for aircraft, accessed by a separate taxiway among the farm fields, about 1 km east of the main taxiway, dispersal, and runway complex.
Airport record for Kuçovë Air Base
at Landings.com. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kucove Air Base Airports in Albania Buildings and structures in Kuçovë
air base
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 ...
located near Kuçovë
Kuçovë ( sq-definite, Kuçova) is a municipality in south-central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kozare, Kuçovë, Lumas and Perondi, which all became municipal units. The se ...
, Berat
Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.
Berat is located in th ...
, Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
History
Construction of the air base began in 1952 and was completed in 1955.
During the 1997 crisis, Kuçovë Air Base was captured by rebels. The damage caused by the protesters was not repaired until 1999.
From 2002 to 2004 the base was renovated to NATO standards. Improvements included a new control tower, new lighting, and repaving.
In 2004, Albania announced plans to scrap 80 obsolete aircraft in an effort to modernize for NATO membership. The aircraft being scrapped included MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
s, MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
s, and Yakovlev
The JSC A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (russian: ОАО Опытно-конструкторское бюро им. А.С. Яковлева) is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer (design office prefix Yak). Its head office is in Aeroport D ...
trainers as well as Chinese-made (Shenyang Aircraft Corporation
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) or Shenyang Aerospace Corporation is a Chinese civilian and military aircraft manufacturer located in Shenyang, Liaoning, a subsidiary of the state-owned aircraft manufacturer AVIC. Founded in 1951 as the cl ...
) F-5s and F-6s. The aircraft were stored in Kuçovë during this process. Recently, many of these retired craft have been auctioned by the government of Albania.
In 2011, the base served as a filming location for the third episode of Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
's sixteenth series. The episode was seen as offensive to many due to derogatory comments made about Albanians by the cast.
In August 2018, the Prime Minister of Albania
The Prime Minister of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Shqipërisë), officially styled Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Kryeministri i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of government of the Republic of Albania and the mos ...
, Edi Rama
Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairm ...
, announced via Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
that NATO would be investing in the base, saying "NATO will invest more than 50 million euros ($58 million) for the first phase of the project alone, to modernise air base in Kucova."NATO to revamp Albanian air base: PMSpaceDaily, 2018-08-05 One feature of Kuçovë Air Base is the mountain storage area for aircraft, accessed by a separate taxiway among the farm fields, about 1 km east of the main taxiway, dispersal, and runway complex.
See also
*List of airports in Albania
This is a list of airports in Albania, grouped by type and sorted by location.
A number of regional airports have been renovated but cannot become functional for civil flights because of the 20 year monopoly held by Tirana International Airport's ...
References
External links
Airport record for Kuçovë Air Base
at Landings.com. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kucove Air Base Airports in Albania Buildings and structures in Kuçovë