A naval air station is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadrons, groups or wings, their various support commands, and other tenant commands.
The term "Naval Air Station" is used by many countries' navies, such as the United States Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the British Royal Navy, and the Indian Navy.
In the case of the U.S. Navy, similar facilities in the U.S. Marine Corps are known as Marine Corps Air Stations and facilities in the U.S. Coast Guard are known as Coast Guard Air Stations.
The Argentine Naval Aviation operates four Base Aeronaval (BAN): from BAN Punta Indio (BAPI) in Buenos Aires Province through BAN Comandante Espora (BACE) and BAN Almirante Zar (BAAZ) in Patagonia to BAN Almirante Quijada (BARD) at Tierra del Fuego. Runways also serve domestic airlines at almost all Argentine military airbases. The Navy operates Estacion Aeronaval (EAN) (stations) which have smaller crews and are not normally assigned aircraft. These include Ezeiza, Rio Gallegos and Ushuaia.