Muthenna Air Base is a former

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

base in the

Baghdad Governorate Baghdad Governorate ( ''Muḥāfaẓat Baġdād''), also known as the Baghdad Province, is the capital governorate of Iraq. It includes the capital Baghdad as well as the surrounding metropolitan area. The governorate is one of two small province ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. It was captured by U.S.-led Coalition forces during

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

in 2003.

Overview

Muthenna was an Iraqi military facility west of the center of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. It consisted of one 3,000 m asphalt/concrete runway sited in a developed industrial/residential area. The base was one of several

airfields in the mid-1970s which were re-built under project "Super-Base" in response to the experiences from Arab–Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973. It was a highly important airfield, with the headquarters of the Central (or 1st) Air Defence Sector located there. Muthenna was also the main base of the No 31 Transport Squadron IrAF, equipped with different transport aircraft flown by several detachments, and the "Special VIP-Squadron" IrAAC, that flew two VIP-configured Westland Commandos, three SA.330 Puma, and several MBB Bo.105 helicopters. It was the home base for Iraqi Air Force transport squadrons and navigation school. During the 1980s a detachment of two Mi-25s of the 4th Sqn IrAAC, used for armed escort of the VIPs, was frequently based at Muthenna as well, and in 1991 a detachment of the No. 5 Sqn IrAF, equipped with

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

s, was based here. Muthenna was among the airbases bombed during Operation Kaman 99, which was launched by Iranian air force the day after the Iraqi invasion of Iran and the beginning of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

of 1980s. During the 1991

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, three of Baghdad's 42 targets—Iraqi air force headquarters, Muthenna airfield, and Ba'ath party headquarters—absorbed 20 percent of the effort. The Ba'ath party headquarters were hit with 28 bombs, Iraqi air force headquarters with 17, and Muthenna airfield with 25. The damage at Muthenna was so extensive that it was subsequently abandoned as a functioning aviation facility. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the site was used as a

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...

by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

References

*
Muthenna Air Base
{{authority control Iraqi Air Force bases Baghdad Governorate in the Iraq War Iraq War sites