Danilo Atienza Air Base is a military base used by the Philippine Air Force, located on the northern end of the Cavite Peninsula in

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

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, Philippines. It is adjacent to

Cavite City Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( and ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people. The city was the capital of Cavite, ...

, in Cavite Province.

History

On September 1, 1971, the U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point base was turned over to the Philippine Navy and Air Force, with the facility being renamed Sangley Point Air Base. The two services jointly operated the facility.

1989 coup

During the December 1989 coup attempt, the base was seized by rebellious military personnel. During the brief period of combat between loyalist and revolutionary elements of the military, a squadron of four F-5A's led by Major Danilo Atienza repeatedly bombed and strafed Sangley Point Air Base, destroying several

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combat planes belonging to the coup forces. Unfortunately, Major Atienza's plane crashed during the otherwise successful operation, and he was killed. After the coup was put down, Sangley Point Air Base was renamed as the Major Danilo Atienza Air Base in 1992.

Present day

As of 2009 the base is home to the Philippine Air Force's 15th Strike Wing, 451st Supply Squadron, 570th Composite Tactical Wing, and 1308th Dental Dispensary. It was also home to the Philippine Navy's MF-30 and MF-40 Squadrons and Naval Air School Center (NATS-50).

Future development

New Manila airport

Danilo Atienza Air Base is among the proposed sites for the new Manila airport to replace or complement

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...

. In 2013, the All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corporation (ARRC) — a venture headed by tycoon Henry Sy — commissioned Danish construction firm Rambøll Group A.S. to conduct a feasibility study for the reclamation of 50 hectares off Sangley Point and the development of an airport with two runways and a terminal capable of handling 50 million passengers annually in place of the current air base. This was part of the so-called "Philippines Global Gateway" project proposed by the ARRC to the Philippine government in February 2016. The entire ARRC project involves the construction of an airport and seaport facility, as well as an industrial complex (ecozone), on land reclaimed from Manila Bay off Sangley Point; it is estimated to cost US$50 billion, involving among other things the reclamation of a total of 2,500 hectares of land and the construction of either an underwater tunnel to the

SM Mall of Asia SM Mall of Asia (also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA; ), is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Metro Manila, Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area w ...

complex in

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or an extension of the Manila–Cavite Expressway to connect the project to

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. In December 2016, the ARRC also proposed to the Duterte administration a plan to develop the existing Danilo Atienza Air Base and its 2.4 km long runway into a facility for

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

s and

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

"while waiting for the new airport." This proposal involves the construction of a 3.3-billion airport terminal. The air base's proposed conversion into a civil airport, if realized under this plan, is expected to reduce air traffic movements at

by 20%.

Gallery

References

{{authority control Military facilities in Cavite Buildings and structures in Cavite City Airports in the Philippines Transportation in Cavite Air force installations of the Philippines