Belfort-Fontaine Airfield

The initial cessation as a NATO air base in 1967 was a direct consequence of France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military command. The site was then converted into a French Army garrison. The final closure of the entire military installation in 2011 was due to a major nationwide restructuring of the French Armed Forces (Révision générale des politiques publiques - RGPP), which resulted in the disbandment of the 1st Artillery Regiment (1er régiment d'artillerie) that was stationed there.

The site is no longer an airfield and has been undergoing significant redevelopment since its closure. A large portion of the former base, including much of the runway and taxiway system, has been converted into a massive photovoltaic solar farm, one of the largest in France. The remaining area is being developed into a large business, logistics, and industrial park named 'Aéroparc de Fontaine-Belfort', intended as an extension of the successful Techn'hom park in Belfort. The original airfield infrastructure is either dismantled, in a state of decay, or being repurposed for the new industrial and energy-generating activities.

Belfort-Fontaine Airfield was constructed between 1952 and 1954 as a NATO Dispersed Operating Base (DOB) during the height of the Cold War. It was built to host tactical air units from the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact, allowing for the dispersal of aircraft away from main operating bases. The airfield featured a standard NATO design with a 2,400-meter (7,900 ft) runway, parallel taxiways, and distinctive circular aircraft hardstands ('marguerites'). Although built for NATO forces, it was never permanently garrisoned by them. After being handed over to the French military in 1967, it was renamed 'Quartier La Horie' and became a key army base, hosting elite units such as the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment and later the 1st Artillery Regiment.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Belfort-Fontaine as an airfield. The extensive and irreversible redevelopment of the site into a solar farm and an industrial park makes its reactivation for aviation purposes physically and economically impossible. The region's commercial and general aviation needs are well-served by the nearby EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (LFSB / BSL).