Prince Hassan Air Base
Air base in Jordan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prince Hassan Air Base (ICAO: OJPH;[2][3] Arabic: قاعدة الأمير حسن الجوية; formerly H-5) is a Royal Jordanian Air Force base, located near the town of Safawi, Mafraq Governorate, Jordan, 72.4 miles (100 km) east-northeast of the country's capital Amman.
| Prince Hassan Air Base | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
قاعدة الأمير حسن الجوية | |||||||
| Near Safawi, Mafraq Governorate in Jordan | |||||||
.jpg) View of the airfield's main apron | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Air Base | ||||||
| Operator | Royal Jordanian Air Force | ||||||
| Website | Prince Hassan Air Base | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Prince Hassan Air Base Shown within Jordan | |||||||
| Coordinates | 32°9′39″N 37°8′59″E | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1966–69[citation needed] | ||||||
| In use | 1969–present | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: OJPH | ||||||
| Elevation | 2,210 feet (674 m) AMSL | ||||||
| |||||||
| Sources: AMC Form 174[1] | |||||||
History
The airfield was established as a landing strip associated with the Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline's H-5 pumping station, being used by Royal Air Force and Iraq Petroleum Company mail aircraft operating between Baghdad, Amman, and Cairo.[4]
In 1969, the airfield was opened as a military base, being named after Prince Hassan bin Talal, then Crown Prince of Jordan.[4] No. 9 Squadron RJAF was established at the base, operating Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighters.[4]
In 1994, the Fighter Weapons Instructor School was moved to the base.[4][clarification needed]
No. 6 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron RJAF has been based at the airfield in the past,[4][when?] but has since moved to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.[citation needed]
Current use
As of 2015, No. 17 Squadron RJAF with Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs was stationed at the base.[5]
The United States Air Force has used the base occasionally since the 1980s,[citation needed] with a 2017 report noting that U.S. Air Force C-17s are transiting the airfield regularly.[6]
The French Air and Space Force has been using Prince Hassan Air Base as a base of operation since 2014, deploying six Mirage 2000 fighter jets there, which were replaced in 2017 by four Rafales.[7][8]
