Apt St Christol Air Base

Military strategic realignment. Following the end of the Cold War, French President Jacques Chirac announced the decision to modernize and restructure France's nuclear deterrent ('force de frappe'). The strategy shifted to rely exclusively on the more flexible and less vulnerable submarine-launched (MSBS) and air-launched (ASMP) nuclear missiles. The fixed, land-based silos were deemed strategically obsolete, expensive to maintain, and a less credible deterrent in the post-Soviet era. The closure was a direct result of this change in national defense policy.

The site was not abandoned but was immediately repurposed. Today, it is an active military installation known as 'Quartier Maréchal Koenig' and is home to the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2ème Régiment Étranger de Génie - 2e REG) of the French Foreign Legion, a specialized mountain and combat engineering unit. The airstrip is maintained and actively used by the military for transport aircraft (including the A400M), parachute training, and other operational needs. Some of the former missile silos have been converted for scientific purposes; one houses the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB), a low-noise underground research laboratory, while another has been converted into the SIRENE astronomical observatory.

The site, officially known as Base Aérienne 200 Apt-Saint-Christol (BA 200), was the heart of France's land-based nuclear deterrent for 25 years. Constructed in the mid-1960s and operational from August 2, 1971, it was a key symbol of French sovereignty during the Cold War. The base commanded the 1er Groupement de Missiles Stratégiques (1st Strategic Missile Group) and operated a network of 18 hardened underground silos spread across the vast Plateau d'Albion. Each silo housed a Sol-Sol Balistique Stratégique (SSBS) intermediate-range ballistic missile armed with a nuclear warhead. The airstrip (FR-1260) was a critical support component, handling logistics, personnel transport (including for Transall C-160 aircraft), and helicopter operations for security and maintenance of the sprawling complex.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airport for public or civilian use. It is an active, strategic military base for the French Foreign Legion. Its infrastructure, including the runway, is integral to the ongoing training and operational readiness of the 2e REG. Its reopening as a civilian airport is not feasible and has never been proposed.