Shaykh Mazhar Air Base

Shaykh Mazhar Air Base was one of several Iraqi Air Force airfields in the mid-1970s which were re-built under project "Super-Base" in response to the experiences from the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973.

Very little is known about this facility, except that it was operational already in the early 1980s, and usually had at least a squadron of MiG-21s or MiG-23s, which were instrumental in the defence of Baghdad against Iranian air raids. Nevertheless, together with Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base, Salman Pak was in the middle of an area full of military installations - including several ammunition depots (also two used for storage of chemical weapons at earlier times) - and during the 1990s it had a squadron of Shenyang F-7 and MiG-23 fighters.

The base was heavily attacked by Coalition aircraft during Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, and seized by Coalition ground forces in February 1991. It was abandoned by the Iraqi Air Force after the ceasefire in late February.

In conjunction with their order for KAI T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft, the Iraqi Air Force ordered the restoration of the base. As with many of its facilities, the new Iraqi Air Force discarded the pre-2003 name and adopted the name As Suwayrah Air Base.

• Iraqi Super-Bases
• Shaykh Mazhar Air Base
• Cummings Project Portfolio