RAAF Base Curtin, also sometimes RAAF Curtin is a joint use

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF)

military air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and civil airport located southeast of the town of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

on the north coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in Australia. As it is one of the RAAF's three bare bases, no RAAF units are permanently based at Curtin and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime. The base is named in honour of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

History

RAAF Curtin was the first new major military airfield to be built in Australia since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Construction on the base began in 1983 and it was opened on 11 June 1988. The base was activated twice by the RAAF between 1988 and 2013. It was activated again in 2016 as part of Exercise Northern Shield. Two B-2 bombers and two RAAF F-35As over RAAF Base Curtin in July 2022

Two B-2 bombers and two RAAF F-35As over RAAF Base Curtin in July 2022

From the late 1990s the base operated as

Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre Curtin Immigration Detention Centre is an Australian immigration detention facility in the Kimberley in Western Australia at 17°36'14.58"S 123°49'14.28"E. Curtin was described by former Immigration minister, Philip Ruddock, as the country's " ...

, an Australian Government immigration detention centre, which closed in September 2002. However the centre was reopened in April 2010 to house around sixty Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers whose applications were suspended. In 2007 direct flights recommenced between

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and Derby (RAAF Curtin) for the first time since

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...

stopped the service in 1992. However, the flights ceased in February 2016. In 2016 and 2017 the Australian Government announced that facilities at Curtin would receive a A$100 to A$200 million upgrade, in addition to a range of other defence facilities in Western Australia.

Climate

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtain Royal Australian Air Force bases Kimberley airports Immigration to Australia Airports established in 1988 Curtin Curtin Military installations in Western Australia

History

Climate

See also

References