Beja Air Base (; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 (, BA11) is one of the most important

military airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

s in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, northwest of Beja, north of

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

. It is used by the

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

(PoAF) and has two parallel runways in the 01/19 direction, the biggest being . The base is home to two training squadrons, one helicopter squadron and one

maritime patrol Maritime patrol or maritime reconnaissance is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to active ...

squadron.

History

The base was established on 21 October 1964, originally built to serve as a training facility for the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

(Luftwaffe), due to airspace limitations within

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' (AFM) is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing Ltd, based at Stamford in the English county of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Established in 1988, the magazine provides news and analysis on mi ...

, p. 36. The Luftwaffe operated from the airbase until 1993, during which period it was used particularly for weapons training. In 1987 the Portuguese Air Force's 103 Squadron using

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

and Northrop T-38 aircraft was relocated from Montijo. After their arrival, the base started to host a mixed array of fixed and rotary-wing trainers, as well as maritime patrol aircraft. Between 1993 and 2018, the PoAF has operated

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a attack aircraft, light attack jet aircraft, jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer a ...

aircraft from the airbase, which were donated by Germany as compensation for leaving the air base in 1993.

Current state

The base is now modern and well-equipped, employing around 1,000 personnel. It comprises two parallel runways running north–south (01L/19R, 01R/19L, the largest being in length and the other long. A third parallel runway/taxiway supports its helicopter facilities. Beja Air Base is one of the most important training facilities of the PoAF and during 2008 operated over 70,000 flying hours.Air Forces Monthly, p. 38. The first training phase comprises flying on

Socata TB 30 Epsilon The Socata TB 30 Epsilon is a light military trainer aircraft produced by SOCATA (then part of Aérospatiale). It is a tandem two-seater with a metal airframe. The first prototype flew on 22 December 1979. Design and development In 1978, the Fre ...

aircraft, which currently has 15 operational aircraft.Air Forces Monthly, p. 39. The 552 Squadron operates 5

AgustaWestland AW119 Koala The AgustaWestland AW119 Koala, produced by Leonardo since 2016, is an eight-seat utility helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine produced for the civil market. Introduced as the Agusta A119 Koala prior to the Agusta-Westland merger, ...

helicopters tasked with tactical transport for the army, helicopter pilot training and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. The 601 Squadron currently uses 5 P-3C Orion Cup + aircraft which provide 24/7 search and rescue and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

cover.Air Forces Monthly, p. 41. The 506 Squadron equiped with KC390 aircraft is task with tactical air transport operations, air refueling and firefighting. Construction of a civilian terminal was undertaken in 2009, with this facility being aimed at

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.Air Forces Monthly, p. 37. Beja's runway is the only mainland Portugal runway capable of accommodating an

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

. The Portuguese

wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide ...

airline Hi Fly previously operated its A380, purchased second-hand in 2018, from Beja.

Tenant units

;

* 101 Sqn. - TB30 Epsilon * 103 Sqn. "''Caracóis''" (Snails) — complementary flying training and operational transition training * 552 Sqn. "''Zangões''" (Drones) — tactical air transport operations and complementary flying training in helicoptersAir Forces Monthly, p. 40. * 601 Sqn. "''Lobos''" (Wolves) — maritime patrol squadron * 506 Sqn. "Rinocerontes" (Rhinoceros) — tactical air transport operations, air refueling and firefighting

Notes

References

*''Base Tour: Beja, Portugal - Portuguese Super Base'',

magazine, March 2009 issue.

External links

Portuguese Air Force - Air Base 11, Beja

Empresa de Desenvolvimento do Aeroporto de Beja
{{authority control Airports in Portugal Buildings and structures in Beja, Portugal Portuguese Air Force bases Germany–Portugal relations Military of Portugal Military installations in Portugal