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Anairbase[1][2] (stylisedair base in American English), sometimes referred to as amilitary airbase,military airfield,military airport,air station,naval air station,air force station, orair force base, is anaerodrome or airport used as amilitary base by amilitary force for operatingmilitary aircraft.
An airbase typically has some facilities similar to acivilianairport; for example,air traffic control andfirefighting. Some military aerodromes have passenger facilities; for example,RAF Brize Norton inEngland has a terminal used by passengers for theRoyal Air Force's passenger transport flights. A number of military airbases may also have acivil enclave for commercial passenger flights, e.g.Beijing Nanyuan Airport (China),Chandigarh Airport (India),Ibaraki Airport (Japan),Burlington International Airport (USA),Sheikh Ul-Alam International Airport Srinagar (India),Taipei Songshan Airport (Taiwan), andEindhoven airport (The Netherlands). Likewise, the opposite also occurs; large civilian airports may contain a smaller military airbase within their environs, such asRoyal Brunei Air Force Base, Rimba (located withinBrunei International Airport).
Some airbases have dispersed aircraft parking,revetments,hardened aircraft shelters, or evenunderground hangars, to protect aircraft from enemy attack.Combat aircraft require secure protected storage ofaircraft ordnance and munitions. Other facilities may also include technical buildings for servicing and support of survival equipment (includingflying helmets and personal liquid oxygen), flight simulator for synthetic training, servicing facilities for all aircraft systems (airframes, propulsion, avionics, weapons systems)[3] and associated ground support systems (including mechanical transport). All military airbases will have buildings formilitary administration (station headquarters, squadron briefing and operations), and larger bases will also include medical and dental facilities for military personnel (and sometimes their dependents), along with dining (mess, informally known as the 'cook house'), accommodation (single living accommodation forjunior ranks, Sergeants' and Officers' Mess for senior non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers), recreational facilities (club house for socialising), shopping facilities (NAAFI shops, base exchange, commissary), and sports facilities (gymnasium, swimming pool, sports pitches). An airbase may be defended byanti-aircraft weapons andforce protection troops.
A dispersal (or dispersed) airbase is an airfield that is used for the purpose ofdispersing air units in the event of conflict, so as to minimise the vulnerability of aircraft and its supporting units whilst on the ground.[4] Dispersal airbases are not necessarily ordinarily operational in peace time, and may only be activated when needed. Airfields used as dispersal bases can either be auxiliary military airfields, civilian airports, orhighway strips. Examples of uses of dispersal bases are theSwedishBas 60 andBas 90 systems, theBritish V-Bomber dispersal bases, andNATO's Dispersed Operating Bases inFrance.
Road airbases arehighways constructed to double as auxiliary airbases in the event of war. Countries known to utilise this strategy areIndia,[6]Sweden,[7]Finland,Germany (formerly),[5]Singapore,Switzerland,[8]South Korea,Turkey,Poland,Pakistan, and theCzech Republic. In the case ofFinnish road airbases, the space needed for landing aircraft is reduced by means of anarrestor wire, similar to that used on some aircraft carriers (Finnish Air Force usesF/A-18s, which were originally designed to land on aircraft carriers).[9]
Anaircraft carrier is a type ofnaval ship which serves as a seaborne airbase, the development of which has greatly enhanced the range and capabilities of modernair forces andnaval aviation. In many countries, they are now a key part of the military, allowing for their military aircraft to be staged much nearer the area of conflict. Aircraft carriers were vital to theUnited States duringWorld War II,Korea and theVietnam War, and to theUnited Kingdom in the 1982Falklands War. They retain modern roles as well as "several acres of sovereign territory a nation can move about at will",[citation needed] which allows greater flexibility in diplomacy as well as military affairs. Aircraft carriers may also used indisaster relief.
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