Prince Hassan Air Base (ICAO: OJPH;[2][3] Arabic: قاعدة الأمير حسن الجوية; formerly H-5) is a Royal Jordanian Air Force base, located near the town of Safawi, Mafraq Governorate, Jordan, 72.4 miles (100 km) east-northeast of the country's capital Amman.
History
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.[4]
In 1969, the airfield was opened as a military base, being named after Prince Hassan bin Talal, then Crown Prince of Jordan.[4] No. 9 Squadron RJAF was established at the base, operating Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighters.[4]
In 1994, the Fighter Weapons Instructor School was moved to the base.[4][clarification needed]
No. 6 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron RJAF has been based at the airfield in the past,[4][when?] but has since moved to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.[citation needed]
Current use
As of 2015, No. 17 Squadron RJAF with Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs was stationed at the base.[5]
The United States Air Force has used the base occasionally since the 1980s,[citation needed] with a 2017 report noting that U.S. Air Force C-17s are transiting the airfield regularly.[6]
The French Air and Space Force has been using Prince Hassan Air Base as a base of operation since 2014, deploying 6 Mirage 2000 fighter jets there, which were replaced in 2017 by 4 Rafale.[7][8]
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.
- ^ a b c d e "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.