Order of Battle · Air bases
Air Bases
Every air base in the Order of Battle: what is stationed there, what was, and which ones you can still fly a jet from.
Service badgeSwiss Air ForceNational markingRed disc, white cross, since 1947
Fin flashThe flag, square, 6:7 cross
682Bases mapped
487Still active
195Closed or reserve
1You can fly from
Photo: Andrew Bossi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)
OperatorSwiss Air Force · United States Air Force · French Air and Space Force · French Naval Aviation · French Army Light Aviation · French State Air Services · Italian Air Force · Italian Naval Aviation · Italian Army Aviation · Italian State Aviation · German Air Force · German Naval Aviation · German Army Aviation · German State Air Services · Royal Canadian Air Force · Canadian Naval and Army Aviation · Canadian State Air Services · Royal Air Force · Polish Air ForceVerified2026-09-25Fly the L-39 Albatros from Sion
In the database
Swiss Air Force bases
Switzerland built one of the densest military airfield networks in Europe and then closed most of it. These are the pages published so far; the full map of all 26 airfields is on the Swiss Air Force page.
VaudPayerneThe main fighter base and the home of Fliegerstaffel 35 — the only Swiss base with Hornets on quick-reaction alert around the clock.Open the Payerne pageBernMeiringenHornets in a mountain cavern: the Bernese Oberland base whose hardened shelters are cut into the rock at Unterbach.Open the Meiringen pageValaisSionClosed to the Air Force in 2017, still open to jets — and the one runway in Switzerland where you can fly an L-39 yourself.Open the Sion page
In the database
United States Air Force bases
The Air Force runs more airfields than any other service on earth. These are the pages published so far; the full map of all 204 bases, active and closed, is on the United States Air Force page.
NevadaNellis Air Force BaseRed Flag, the Aggressors, the Weapons School and the Thunderbirds — the base where the Air Force learns to fight, and loses on purpose.Open the Nellis Air Force Base pageCaliforniaEdwards Air Force BaseRogers Dry Lake and the flight test centre. Almost every American military aircraft since 1942 has been proved here, and the sound barrier was broken overhead.Open the Edwards Air Force Base pageArizonaDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseThe Boneyard: 2,600 acres of stored aircraft in the Arizona desert — and the base the A-10 flew from for fifty years, until July 2026.Open the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base pageGermanyRamsteinThe largest mobility hub in the Air Force and the headquarters of USAFE-AFAFRICA, commanding a theatre that spans three continents.Open the Ramstein pageJapanKadenaThe largest American air base in the Pacific — and, since the Eagles left in 2025, one with no fighters of its own until the F-15EX arrives.Open the Kadena pageUnited KingdomRoyal Air Force LakenheathThe Liberty Wing in Suffolk: the largest USAF fighter wing in Europe and the first F-35A base on the continent. The Libya raid flew from here.Open the Royal Air Force Lakenheath pageItalyAvianoAn aerodrome since 1911, at the foot of the Carnic Alps. Deny Flight, Deliberate Force and Allied Force were all flown from this ramp.Open the Aviano pageCaliforniaBeale Air Force BaseHome of the Blackbird, then the Dragon Lady. Seventy years on, the U-2 still climbs out of the Sacramento Valley to 70,000 feet.Open the Beale Air Force Base pageNew MexicoHolloman Air Force BaseThe world’s longest rocket sled track, sixteen years of F-117A Nighthawks, and the Air Force’s biggest F-16 and MQ-9 schoolhouse on the edge of White Sands.Open the Holloman Air Force Base pageMissouriWhiteman Air Force BaseThe only operational B-2 base on earth: nineteen Spirits and the 509th Bomb Wing, whose lineage runs back to Tinian and the atomic missions of 1945.Open the Whiteman Air Force Base pageLouisianaBarksdale Air Force BaseHeadquarters of Air Force Global Strike Command and home of the Mighty Eighth — 47 B-52H bombers on a 22,000-acre installation in north-west Louisiana.Open the Barksdale Air Force Base pageFloridaEglin Air Force Base464,000 acres across three Florida counties, where American air-delivered weapons are proved — and where the Doolittle Raiders learned to fly off a carrier.Open the Eglin Air Force Base pageNorth DakotaMinot Air Force BaseThe only base in the Air Force with two legs of the nuclear triad — B-52H bombers and 150 Minuteman III silos — and the base the 2007 Bent Spear incident is named for.Open the Minot Air Force Base pageNebraskaOffutt Air Force BaseHeadquarters of United States Strategic Command, home of the 55th Wing’s Rivet Joints, and the base where Looking Glass stayed airborne for twenty-nine years.Open the Offutt Air Force Base pageWyomingF. E. Warren Air Force BaseThe oldest continuously active base in the Air Force, founded in 1867 — and it has no runway at all, only two helicopter pads.Open the F. E. Warren Air Force Base pageMontanaMalmstrom Air Force BaseWhere the first Minuteman went on alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and where a whole flight of missiles dropped off alert in 1967.Open the Malmstrom Air Force Base pageGuamAndersen Air Force BaseGuam’s bomber island. Arc Light and Linebacker II launched from here, and the 36th Wing still owns no aircraft of its own — everything on the ramp is a visitor.Open the Andersen Air Force Base pageSouth KoreaKunsanThe Wolf Pack — a single-seat F-16 base on the Yellow Sea where every tour is one year and unaccompanied, so the whole wing turns over annually.Open the Kunsan pageJapanMisawaThe Air Force’s Wild Weasel base in northern Japan, now trading 36 F-16s for 48 F-35As — the first USAF F-35s permanently based in Japan.Open the Misawa pageAlaskaEielson Air Force BaseAlaska’s F-35 base at the end of one of North America’s longest runways, and home of RED FLAG-Alaska since Mount Pinatubo pushed it north from Clark.Open the Eielson Air Force Base page
In the database
French Air and Space Force bases
France runs fifteen flying air bases at home, six overseas and one in the Gulf. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every base, active and closed, is on the French Air and Space Force page.
Haute-MarneBase aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-RobinsonThe first Rafale base and the home of the airborne nuclear deterrent — and the runway the first shots over Libya were flown from in March 2011.Open the Base aérienne 113 Saint-Dizier-Robinson pageLandesBase aérienne 118 Mont-de-MarsanWhere the French air force decides how to fight: the CEAM trials centre, three Rafale squadrons and the only régiment in the service, the Normandie-Niemen.Open the Base aérienne 118 Mont-de-Marsan pageBouches-du-RhôneBase aérienne 125 Istres-Le TubéThe longest runway in France, Europe’s biggest tanker fleet and the flight test centre — the base most French deployments actually leave from.Open the Base aérienne 125 Istres-Le Tubé pageCherBase aérienne 702 AvordFour E-3F Sentries in the middle of France: the only airborne early warning aircraft owned outright by a continental Western European air force.Open the Base aérienne 702 Avord pageBouches-du-RhôneBase aérienne 701 Salon-de-ProvenceThe air academy, the Patrouille de France since 1964, and the motto the whole service took from Guynemer: Faire face.Open the Base aérienne 701 Salon-de-Provence page
In the database
French Naval Aviation bases
France runs four naval air bases and seven permanent detachments, and one ship that turns them into an expeditionary air force. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every base, active and closed, is on the French Naval Aviation page.
In the database
Italian Air Force bases
Italy flies from about twenty airfields and keeps units on a dozen more. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every base, active and closed, is on the Italian Air Force page.
PugliaAmendolaThe first F-35 base in Europe, the largest military airfield in Italy, and the home of Italian armed drones.Open the Amendola pageLombardiaGhediThe Tornado base turning into an F-35 base — and the Italian end of NATO nuclear sharing.Open the Ghedi pagePiemonteCameriThe only F-35 assembly line outside the United States, on a field that has been flying since 1910.Open the Cameri pageFriuli-Venezia GiuliaRivoltoHome of the Frecce Tricolori since 1961, and of the air force’s ground-based missile wing.Open the Rivolto pageToscanaGrossetoThe 4th Wing, the Baracca squadron and round-the-clock Eurofighter alert over central Italy.Open the Grosseto pageSardegnaDecimomannuDecades as NATO’s Mediterranean air combat training base, now the International Flight Training School.Open the Decimomannu page
In the database
German Air Force bases
Germany flies from ten Fliegerhorste and three shared civil airports, and has given up more than forty more since 1990. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every base, active and closed, is on the German Air Force page.
Rheinland-PfalzBüchelThe Tornado wing that carries Germany’s share of NATO nuclear sharing, now becoming the F-35A base.Open the Büchel pageNiedersachsenWittmundhafenNorthern quick reaction alert, and the wing that carries Manfred von Richthofen’s name.Open the Wittmundhafen pageBayernNeuburgSouthern quick reaction alert over Bavaria, and the base that built the Me 262.Open the Neuburg pageNordrhein-WestfalenNörvenichThe Boelcke wing, the first German unit on the F-84F and the F-104, and Germany’s host field for foreign detachments.Open the Nörvenich pageMecklenburg-VorpommernLaage / Rostock-Laage AirportThe former Nationale Volksarmee base where Luftwaffe MiG-29s flew until 2004, now the Eurofighter training wing.Open the Laage / Rostock-Laage Airport pageNiedersachsenWunstorfThe A400M main operating base, and a Berlin Airlift field that has never stopped flying transports.Open the Wunstorf pageNordrhein-WestfalenNATO GeilenkirchenNot a Luftwaffe base at all: NATO’s own AWACS wing, multinational, on the Luxembourg register.Open the NATO Geilenkirchen pageNiedersachsenNordholz NavalGerman naval aviation since 1912 — Zeppelins, Orions, and now the P-8A Poseidon.Open the Nordholz Naval page
In the database
German Naval Aviation bases
German naval aviation flies from one airfield, Nordholz, and has given up four more. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every station, active and closed, is on the German Naval Aviation page.
In the database
Royal Canadian Air Force bases
Canada flies from eleven bases and has given up well over a hundred stations since 1945, including four fighter wings in Europe. These are the pages published so far; the full map of every base, active and closed, is on the Royal Canadian Air Force page.
Alberta4 Wing Cold LakeThe main fighter base, the country’s biggest air weapons range, and where the F-35 is meant to land.Open the 4 Wing Cold Lake pageQuébec3 Wing BagotvilleThe francophone fighter base, NORAD alert for eastern Canada, and 425 "Alouette".Open the 3 Wing Bagotville pageOntario8 Wing TrentonThe airlift hub, the parachute school, and the end of the Highway of Heroes.Open the 8 Wing Trenton pageNova Scotia14 Wing GreenwoodAtlantic maritime patrol, the Aurora, and the anti-submarine watch on the North Atlantic.Open the 14 Wing Greenwood pageBritish Columbia19 Wing ComoxPacific search and rescue over mountains and open ocean, and the Kingfisher’s first home.Open the 19 Wing Comox pageNewfoundland and Labrador5 Wing Goose BayThe airfield the Americans cut out of Labrador in 1941, and what it does now.Open the 5 Wing Goose Bay pageNova Scotia12 Wing ShearwaterA hundred years of naval aviation, the Sea King’s fifty years and the Cyclone that replaced it.Open the 12 Wing Shearwater pageSaskatchewan15 Wing Moose JawWhere every Canadian military pilot learns to fly, and where the Snowbirds live.Open the 15 Wing Moose Jaw pageManitoba17 Wing WinnipegThe operational brain of the RCAF, sharing a runway with an international airport.Open the 17 Wing Winnipeg pageOntarioGarrison PetawawaAn army garrison flying air force Chinooks — the thing readers most often get wrong.Open the Garrison Petawawa page
In the database
Canadian Naval and Army Aviation bases
Canadian naval and army aviation flew from one naval air station, three aircraft carriers and a scatter of army camps and joint training fields, and all of it closed on 1 February 1968. These are the pages published so far; the full map is on the Canadian Naval and Army Aviation page.
In the database
Royal Air Force bases
Since the end of the Cold War the RAF has concentrated its flying on a small number of large main operating bases and closed or handed over dozens of others. These are the pages published so far; the full map of all 47 stations, active and closed, is on the Royal Air Force page.
Moray, ScotlandRoyal Air Force LossiemouthQuick Reaction Alert for the northern sky, the Tirpitz raids, twenty-six years as HMS Fulmar — and a decade with no maritime patrol aircraft before the Poseidon came.Open the Royal Air Force Lossiemouth pageLincolnshire, EnglandRoyal Air Force ConingsbySouthern Quick Reaction Alert and the first Typhoon station. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight has flown its Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster from here since 1976.Open the Royal Air Force Coningsby pageNorfolk, EnglandRoyal Air Force MarhamWhere RAF air-to-air refuelling grew up, thirty-seven years of Tornado, and now the F-35B Lightning Force — run jointly with the Royal Navy and flown from aircraft carriers.Open the Royal Air Force Marham pageOxfordshire, EnglandRoyal Air Force Brize NortonThe RAF’s largest station: every Voyager, Atlas and C-17 in one place, a D-Day glider airfield, and the gate through which the fallen come home.Open the Royal Air Force Brize Norton pageLincolnshire, EnglandRoyal Air Force WaddingtonThe first Lancaster squadron went to war from here and Vulcan XM607 flew Black Buck. Today it is the centre of British surveillance flying, and home of the Red Arrows.Open the Royal Air Force Waddington pageWestern Sovereign Base Area, CyprusRoyal Air Force AkrotiriAn RAF airfield on British sovereign soil in Cyprus. Suez, the 1974 invasion, every Middle East operation since — and a drone strike in March 2026.Open the Royal Air Force Akrotiri page
In the database
Polish Air Force bases
Poland concentrated its combat aircraft on a handful of tactical air bases after 1990 and closed dozens of Warsaw Pact airfields. These are the pages published so far; the full map of all 14 bases, active and closed, is on the Polish Air Force page.
Łódzkie (Łódź)32nd Tactical ŁaskPoland’s first F-35 base since May 2026, host of America’s first permanent air detachment in Poland since 2012, and thirty-five years of MiG-21s before that.Open the 32nd Tactical Łask pageWielkopolskie (Greater Poland)31st Tactical Poznań-KrzesinyWhere Poland’s F-16 era began in 2006: the Tiger squadron, the first NATO Tiger Meet in Poland, Norwegian F-35s on the eastern flank — and a long fight over jet noise.Open the 31st Tactical Poznań-Krzesiny pageLubelskie (Lublin)41st Air Training Base DęblinThe School of Eaglets: almost every Polish military pilot since 1927 learned to fly here, from the Battle of Britain generation to today’s F-35 pilots on the M-346 Bielik.Open the 41st Air Training Base Dęblin pageWielkopolskie (Greater Poland)33rd Air Transport Base PowidzPoland’s Hercules base, home of its special operations aviation, and now the site of the US Army’s newest prepositioned-stock depot in Europe.Open the 33rd Air Transport Base Powidz pagePomorskie (Pomerania)22nd Tactical MalborkThe last MiG-29 base in Poland, named after Stanisław Skalski — and NATO’s landing ground a few minutes’ flight from Kaliningrad.Open the 22nd Tactical Malbork pageMazowieckie (Masovia)1st Air Transport Base WarsawPoland’s government airline for sixty-six years, the regiment lost at Smoleńsk in 2010, and the new VIP fleet built after it.Open the 1st Air Transport Base Warsaw page
The part of the collection you can touch
Fly a jet from a Swiss Air Force base.
Sion closed to the Air Force in 2017. The runway is still there, and so is a L-39 Albatros with a second seat.