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Florennes Air Base | |||||||||
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Base aérienne de Florennes | |||||||||
| Base Jean Offenberg, 5620Florennes,Wallonia in Belgium | |||||||||
 aerial photo of Florennes Air Base, 2018 | |||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Militaryairbase | ||||||||
| Owner |  Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator |  Belgian Air Component | ||||||||
| Condition | operational | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  Florennes Air Base Location in Belgium | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°14′36″N004°38′45″E / 50.24333°N 4.64583°E /50.24333; 4.64583 | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1936; 89 years ago (1936) | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | Colonel Cedric Kamensky | ||||||||
| Garrison | 2nd Tactical Wing | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: EBFS | ||||||||
| Elevation | 283metres (928feet)AMSL | ||||||||
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| Source: BelgianAeronautical Information Publication[1] | |||||||||
Florennes Air Base (French:Base aérienne de Florennes),[2] also known asBase Jean Offenberg, (ICAO:EBFS) is aBelgian Air Component (formerly the Belgian Air Force) militaryairbase, compliant toSTANAG 3712 category 8 (and category 5 duringquick reaction alert operations), located 2nautical miles (3.7kilometres; 2.3miles) east-south-east ofFlorennes,[1] in theWalloon region ofBelgium. It is home to the2nd Tactical Wing, operating twosquadrons of theGeneral Dynamics F-16. TheTactical Leadership Programme (TLP), a joint training programme forNATO members, was based at Florennes from 1989 to 2009.
DuringWorld War II, GermanLuftwaffe fighter units operated from here, includingJunkers Ju 88 andMesserschmitt Bf 110 night fighters, andFocke-Wulf Fw 190 day fighters. It was recaptured in September 1944 and became known asAdvanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-78, after which Allied units operating from here included theUnited States Air Force (USAF)430th Fighter Squadron, flying LockheedLockheed P-38 Lightnings in the ground attack role, and theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF)422nd Night Fighter Squadron, flyingNorthrop P-61 Black Widows.[3] From 1984 to 1990, the US Air Force485th Tactical Missile Wing was located at Florennes, deploying theBGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile system, which were removed in 1989 as part of theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
In March 1989, theTactical Leadership Programme (TLP) moved to Florennes. The TLP is a joint training programme, originally formed in 1978 by defence members from sixNATO countries atFürstenfeldbruck near Munich inWest Germany, and previously based atJever from 1979. By the time TLP arrived at Florennes, it consisted of NATO members from ten countries. Whilst at Florennes, the TLP conductedmultilateral military flying training courses, and expanded to include creating formalised documentation for NATOdoctrines, along with other academic studies relating to alliedair forces. On 31 July 2009, TLP moved toAlbacete inSpain.[4]
Florennes Air Base is home two fighter squadrons;1 Squadron, which was formed in 1917, and350 Squadron, founded in the United Kingdom in 1942 during theSecond World War. Both units fly theGeneral Dynamics F-16.[citation needed] It is also home to the Belgian Defence Aeroclub ASBL.[1]
On 11 October 2018, aBelgian Air Force F-16AM (registration FA-128) costing€40 million was destroyed by fire at theairbase. During routine maintenance on three nearby F-16s, a technician working on one F-16 accidentally fired itsVulcan M61A1 cannon, the discharged rounds penetrating the fuel tanks of a nearby F-16AM, which had just been fuelled for a training mission, this exploded in a fireball which totally destroyed that aircraft. The explosion also causedcollateral damage to two other F-16 aircraft, including the one which discharged itscannon. Two technicians sustained injuries, includinghearing loss, and required treatment in hospital.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Two men taken to hospital following incident at Florennes military air base
Media related toFlorennes Air Base at Wikimedia Commons
