Danilo Atienza Air Base is a military base used by the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Fo ...

, located on the northern end of the

Cavite Peninsula The Cavite Peninsula is a peninsula extending northeast into Manila Bay from the coastal town of Noveleta in Cavite province in the Philippines. The northern tip of the peninsula is geographically the northernmost part of the Province of Cavite. ...

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...

, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is adjacent to

Cavite City Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people. The city was the ...

, in Cavite Province.

History

On 1 September 1971, the

U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...

base was turned over to the Philippine Navy and Air Force, with the facility being renamed Sangley Point Air Base. The two services jointly operated the facility.

1989 coup

During the December 1989 coup attempt, the base was seized by rebellious military personnel. During the brief period of combat between loyalist and revolutionary elements of the military, a squadron of four F-5A's led by Major Danilo Atienza repeatedly bombed and strafed Sangley Point Air Base, destroying several T-28 combat planes belonging to the coup forces. Unfortunately, Major Atienza's plane crashed during the otherwise successful operation, and he was killed. After the coup was put down, Sangley Point Air Base was renamed as the Major Danilo Atienza Air Base in 1992.

Present day

As of 2009 the base is home to the Philippine Air Force's 15th Strike Wing, 451st Supply Squadron, 570th Composite Tactical Wing, and 1308th Dental Dispensary. It was also home to the Philippine Navy's MF-30 and MF-40 Squadrons and Naval Air School Center (NATS-50).

Future development

New Manila airport

Danilo Atienza Air Base is among the proposed sites for the new Manila airport to replace or complement

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

. In 2013, the All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corporation (ARRC) — a venture headed by tycoon Henry Sy — commissioned Danish construction firm Rambøll Group A.S. to conduct a feasibility study for the reclamation of 50 hectares off Sangley Point and the development of an airport with two runways and a terminal capable of handling 50 million passengers annually in place of the current air base. This was part of the so-called "Philippines Global Gateway" project proposed by the ARRC to the Philippine government in February 2016. The entire ARRC project involves the construction of an airport and seaport facility, as well as an industrial complex (ecozone), on land reclaimed from Manila Bay off Sangley Point; it is estimated to cost US$50 billion, involving among other things the reclamation of a total of 2,500 hectares of land and the construction of either an underwater tunnel to the

SM Mall of Asia SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Pasay, Philippines, within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area within Manila Bay, and the ...

complex in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location jus ...

or an extension of the Manila–Cavite Expressway to connect the project to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. In December 2016, the ARRC also proposed to the

Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperso ...

administration a plan to develop the existing Danilo Atienza Air Base and its 2.4 km long runway into a facility for

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 and

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

"while waiting for the new airport." This proposal involves the construction of a 3.3-billion airport terminal. The air base's proposed conversion into a civil airport, if realized under this plan, is expected to reduce air traffic movements at

by 20%.

Gallery

References

{{authority control Military facilities in Cavite Buildings and structures in Cavite City Airports in the Philippines Transportation in Cavite Air force installations of the Philippines