Airbase

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An Airbase, sometimes referred to as a military airport or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft.

Some airbases provide facilities very like civilian airports. For example, RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England has a terminal which caters for passengers for the Royal Air Force's scheduled flights, e.g. the Tristar to the Falkland Islands.

Some airbases are built underground. For example, Slatina airport.

Other structures and equipment are specific to military airfields, e.g.:

Anti-aircraft weapons, e.g. surface-to-air missiles, to protect from air attack.
Hardened Aircraft Shelters to protect individual aircraft from aerial strikes.

[edit] Road airbase

Road airbases are highways constructed to double as auxiliary airbases in the event of war. Nations known to utilise this strategy are Sweden [1] (vägbas, literally meaning "road base"), Finland (maantietukikohtiin) and Germany. In the case of Finnish road airbases, the space needed for landing aircraft is reduced by means of a wire, similar to the CATOBAR system used on some aircraft carriers.[2]

[edit] Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a type of naval ship which serves as a seaborne airbase, the development of them has greatly enhanced the capabilities of modern air forces. They are now a key part of the military, allowing for military aircraft to be staged much nearer the theatre of conflict. Recent examples of their use includes the Iraq war and the military operations to remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.