Monte Real Air Base, officially designated as Air Force Base No. 5 (, BA5), is a

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)

air base 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 ...

located in

Monte Real Monte Real is a town (''vila'' in Portuguese) and a former Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality of Leiria, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Monte Real e Carvide. It covers an area of 12.23 km2 and ha ...

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

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 ...

. Its mission is to guarantee the readiness and deployment of the air force units based there. Since its opening in October 1959, the base has been home to the air force's jet

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

, with several of the units based there being equipped with F-86F Sabre, Fiat G.91,

T-33 Shooting Star 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 ...

T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be tra ...

and

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design wa ...

aircraft. The base is currently home to two

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

squadrons.

History

The air base is located at the former installations of the aero club of Leiria, that existed from 1938 to 1941, when it became a military aerodrome of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

's aviation service. In 1952 the Army's aviation and the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

's aviation service were merged, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese Air Force, but the aerodrome wasn't actively used until the air base was established in 1959. Construction of the air base began in 1957 and was completed in 1959, it being officially inaugurated on 4 October by the President of the Republic Admiral

Américo Tomás Américo de Deus Rodrigues Thomaz (; 19 November 1894 – 18 September 1987) was a Portuguese Navy Officer (armed forces), officer and politician who served as the 13th president of Portugal from 1958 to Carnation Revolution, 1974. He was the ...

. That same year the first Portuguese F-86F Sabre squadron, ''Esquadra 50'' "''Falcões''", that was created the previous year, was transferred to Monte Real and was re-designated as 51 Squadron "''Falcões''" (

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

s). At the same time a second F-86F squadron, 52 Squadron "''Galos''" (

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

s), was also formed. Adopting the motto "''Alcança Quem Não Cansa''" (attaining without ceasing), these two squadrons became part of the new Operational Group 501 and together totaled 50 F-86F combat aircraft. This number was later increased to 65 fighters. 52 Squadron was disbanded on 12 July 1961. Between 1974 and 1987 the Advanced Fighter Training Squadron (, E.I.C.P.A.C.), later re-designated as 103 Squadron, was based at Monte Real and operated the T-33A Shooting Star and T-38A Talon. On 24 December 1981, a new chapter began at Air Base No. 5 with the arrival of first nine A-7P Corsair II fighter aircraft. The number eventually grew to 20, and these aircraft formed 302 Attack Squadron, taking on the symbols and traditions of the 51 Squadron "''Falcões''." On 28 June 1984, during a meeting of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Commission of Infrastructures in Brussels, Monte Real was formally accepted as NATO infrastructure to be equipped with two attack squadrons of A-7P aircraft and a future interceptor squadron. On the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of Monte Real Air Base, 4 October 1984, the 304 Attack Squadron was officially activated and became the second attack squadron with A-7P aircraft. This squadron became the heir of the traditions, symbols, and deeds of the 93 Squadron "''Magníficos''" (Magnificents), deactivated at Air Base No. 9, in 1973 in Luanda, Africa.On 4 October 1993, the 201 Squadron was activated and equipped with

fighters. This squadron resumed the

air defence Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

mission, and inherited the traditions and symbol of the "''Falcões''." On 25 November 2005, 301 Squadron was transferred to Air Base No. 5 from Air Base No. 11 in Beja and received the first F-16 fighters upgraded with the Mid-Life Update (F-16AM and F-16BM) of the Portuguese Air Force. The squadron maintained the symbols and traditions of the "''Jaguares''" (

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

s). Work on the PoAF's F-16 Mid-Life Update program is carried out at the workshops at Monte Real Air Base, namely the facilities designated as dock 4 (), as well the flight testing of the upgraded aircraft.

Tenant units

Monte Real Air Base hosts the 51st Operational Group (GO51). The GO51's operational fighter squadrons are: * 201 Fighter Squadron "''Falcões''" (Falcons) * 301 Fighter Squadron "''Jaguares''" (Jaguars) Both squadrons fly the

Former tenant units

* 51 Squadron "''Falcões''" (1959–1978) * 52 Squadron "''Roosters''" (1959–1961) * E.I.C.P.A.C. (1974–1987) * 302 Squadron (1981–1996) * 304 Squadron (1984–1999)

Infrastructures

The base has one runway: * Ident.: 01/19 * QFU: 007º/187º * LDA: 8,000 ft / 2.438 m * TORA: 9,000 ft / 2.743 m * Width: 148 ft / 45 m * ILS: Yes * PCN: 027RAWT There are four main apron areas (A1 to D1) on the East side of the base, and some twenty parking bays on the west side.

References

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External links