NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen
| NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component |
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Operator | NATO | ||||||||||
| Location | Geilenkirchen | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 296 ft / 90 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°57′39″N 006°02′33″E / 50.96083°N 6.04250°ECoordinates: 50°57′39″N 006°02′33″E / 50.96083°N 6.04250°E | ||||||||||
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NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component) (IATA: GKE, ICAO: ETNG) is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany. It is the Main Operating Base of the NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force.
NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen. The base is known to the local population as ‘Flugplatz Teveren’ and has an area of 620 hectares (1,500 acres). Part of the base perimeter is adjacent to the German-Dutch border.
Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards. Various RAF fighter squadrons were based there from 1953 until 1968.
Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968. In August of that year it became the home of the German Missile Wing 2, which was equipped with Pershing missiles and supported by the 85th U.S. Army Field Artillery Detachment of the U.S. Army.
Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base (MOB) of the E-3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defense Planning Committee (DPC) granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters. By the end of 1981, the German Pershing Wing had left the base and moved to Niederheid, north of Geilenkirchen, while the U.S. 85th Field Artillery Detachment remained on base until July 1991 and was then de-activated.
E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E-3A aircraft. Germany formally handed over the Main Operating Base to NATO on 31 March 1982. The Component was officially activated on 28 June 1982 and reached Full Operational Capability by the end of 1988.
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