Sitalchay () Military Airbase is a

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 ...

located in the East of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, near the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. It is located 70 km North-West of the capital

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in Sitalchay, a village and municipality in the Khizi Rayon. The airbase is fenced and guarded but has not been operational since 1992.

History

The Sitalchay air base was the location of the first

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. Th ...

unit. The first eleven production aircraft were assigned to the 80th or 60th Separate Assault Aviation Regiment, based at Sitalchay, in April 1981. In June 1981, the 200th Separate Assault Aviation Squadron was formed at Sitalchay and then deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it became a base for a regiment of Su-25s of the 34th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces. In August 1992, despite the provisions of the Tashkent Treaty which directed an orderly transfer of ex-Soviet forces to the republics, Azeri troops seized the entire regiment and its aircraft.

Possible use by Israel

In March 2012, the magazine ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' reported that the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

might be preparing to use the airbase, located 500 km from the Iranian border, for air strikes against the

nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, t ...

. Since then some analysts as well as news agencies started presenting the issue as something confirmed. Although confirming that Israel is seeking such access, political circles in Azerbaijan deny such consent from Baku. Moreover, high-ranking politicians deny any possibility of using Azeri territory for any strike against Iran; a development that Iran sees as possible.

References

{{Reflist Azerbaijani Air Force bases Khizi District