T
HE OPULENCE OF Abu Dhabi
and its spectacular business
high-rises, its Formula One
racing circuit and magni cent
hotels is world-renowned.
It comes in stark contrast to
the nearby, clandestine, desert fortress
that must count as one of the most
impressive air power hubs — Al Dhafra
air base. Until last year, Al Dhafra was
one of the places the US military called
‘an undisclosed location’, but pretty
much everyone knew exactly where
the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing
(AEW) resided.
As a sign of commitment between
the United Arab Emirates and the US,
the base is now openly acknowledged.
Local UAE Air Force units y alongside
deployed USAF assets on a daily basis
from this vast desert air eld, which is
centered upon two huge runways and a
mass of sprawling infrastructure.
Al Dhafra is one of several bases that
support missions within US Central
Command (CENTCOM). It has housed US
forces in various guises and quantities
since Operation ‘Desert Storm’ in 1991.
Today, it is a nerve center for Operation
‘Inherent Resolve’ (OIR), the mission to
snu out so-called Islamic State (IS) andfor ongoing operations in Afghanistan
and throughout the Middle East.
Commanding the 380th AEW is Brig
Gen Derek France, who says that the ‘OIR
operational environment is constantly
evolving and very complex.’ Waves of
missions are launched daily by the men
and women who are deployed here
in a tented city. ‘We share the air eld
with our hosts and operate from a
speci c enclave,’ explains France. ‘We
have a living compound as well as an
operations and maintenance area.’
The base is heavily guarded, with
multiple checkpoints manned by
steely-eyed security guards amid
unprecedented layers of forti cation.
Speaking from his command
building, France says, ‘We have over
3,000 personnel on base, includingAn F-22A
Raptor of
the 94th
Expeditionary
Fighter
Squadron fl ies
over Syria in
May during an
OIR combat
mission.http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2018 29
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