Nice Air Base (''Base Aérienne 943 Nice "Capitaine Auber"'') of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

is divided between two sites: one at the summit of

Mont Agel Mont Agel is a mountain on the border between France and Monaco. The summit of this mount, at above sea level, is on the French side, but the highest point of Monaco, lying on a pathway named Chemin des Révoires, is on its slopes, at an altitud ...

near

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in the Alpes-Maritimes département, and the other at Gardanne barracks in

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; oc, Ròcabruna Caup Martin or ; it, Roccabruna-Capo Martino, ; Mentonasc: ''Rocabrüna''; Roquebrune until 1921) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern Fr ...

. The Mont Agel base uses the facilities of the former

Ouvrage Mont Agel Ouvrage Mont Agel is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the Little Maginot Line. The 1930s ''ouvrage'' was built in and around the earlier mountaintop Fortress of Mont Agel. The ''ouv ...

of the

Alpine Line The Alpine Line (french: Ligne Alpine) or Little Maginot Line (French: ''Petite Ligne Maginot'') was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France. In contrast to the main line in the northeastern portion of Fra ...

. Its mission is the surveillance of aviation movements in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, operating as ''Centre de Détection et de Contrôle'' (CDC) 05.943, tactical call sign “Rhodia radar”. A similar facility is located at

Drachenbronn Air Base Drachenbronn Air Base (''Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn'') of the French Air and Space Force is located in the community of Drachenbronn-Birlenbach in the Bas-Rhin département. It houses the '' Centre de détection et de contrôle 05/901.'' Th ...

in northeastern

. The Gardanne base houses administrative functions and personnel housing in a former ''Chasseur Alpins'' barracks. BA943 is responsible for the identification of all aircraft in its zone of responsibility, and for the coordination of military air traffic in the southeastern airspace of France. The facility has the capacity to interact with E-3F and

E-2C The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...

airborne control aircraft. It is equipped with a 23 cm two-dimensional search radar and a three-dimensional "PALMIER" radar on the site. Data is integrated by a VISU IV system.

References

External links

Base Aérienne 943
official site {{authority control French Air and Space Force bases Bunkers in France

See also

References

External links