Prince Hassan Air Base
History
 | This section only references primary sources. (February 2024) |
The airfield was established as a landing strip associated with the Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline's H-5 pumping station, being used by Royal Air Force and Iraq Petroleum Company mail aircraft operating between Baghdad, Amman, and Cairo.
In 1969, the airfield was opened as a military base, being named after Prince Hassan bin Talal, then Crown Prince of Jordan. No. 9 Squadron RJAF was established at the base, operating Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighters.
In 1994, the Fighter Weapons Instructor School was moved to the base.
No. 6 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron RJAF has been based at the airfield in the past, but has since moved to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.
Current use
As of 2015, No. 17 Squadron RJAF with Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs was stationed at the base.
The United States Air Force has used the base occasionally since the 1980s, with a 2017 report noting that U.S. Air Force C-17s are transiting the airfield regularly.
The French Air and Space Force has been using Prince Hassan Air Base as a base of operation since 2014, deploying six Mirage 2000 fighter jets there, which were replaced in 2017 by four Rafales.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ USAF 2017, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Aerodrome Booklet Middle East Air Exercise Program Oman. RAF Northholt: No 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit. 2020. p. 84.
- ^ "AIP Jordan Supplement 2/20, Location Indicators" (PDF). Jordan Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission. 16 July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "Prince Hassan Air Base". Royal Jordanian Air Force. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "Armed Forces Overviews – Royal Jordanian Air Force". Scramble. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ USAF 2017, p. 14: "US Air Force C-17 aircraft are already transiting the airfield on a regular basis."
- ^ Fayet, Eloïse (November 2022). What Strategic Posture Should France Adopt in the Middle East? (PDF). IFRI. p. 28.
- ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (2024). Wall, Robert (ed.). The Military Balance 2024 (Report). Routledge. p. 365. ISBN 9781032780047. ISSN 0459-7222.
Sources
- Airfield Survey Prince Hassan (H5) (AMC Form 174). United States Air Force. 2017 – via FOIA.