🇪🇬 Cairo West Air Base

Cairo West Air Base (IATA: CWE, ICAO: HECW) is a military air base located in Cairo, Egypt, owned by the Ministry of Defense and operated by the Egyptian Air Force. It is not a public cargo terminal and does not handle commercial air freight or scheduled flights; commercial shipments for Cairo are handled by Cairo International Airport (CAI).

Notable Features and History:

• Origins: Originally a Royal Air Force installation known as "Landing Ground 224," built in 1941.
• Operation Focus: The air base was temporarily put out of service after being attacked by the Israeli Air Force during Operation Focus.
• US Deployments: It has frequently hosted United States Air Force deployments, including the 487th Air Expeditionary Wing during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and F-4E Phantom IIs from the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1980.
• Exercises: Cairo West Air Base has been a site for joint and combined coalition exercises, such as "Bright Star," where it served as a bare base facility for testing and training personnel in austere locations. During Bright Star '99, a tent city for nearly 1,800 people was established, requiring extensive infrastructure setup including water pipes and power plants.
• Aircraft: Historically, it was listed as the home of the 222nd Tactical Fighter Brigade, flying McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.

Current Status:

• Operator: Egyptian Air Force.
• Units: The base is home to the Egyptian Fighter Weapon School of the 139 Air Division, the 95th and 97th Squadrons of the 292nd Tactical Fighter Wing (flying F-16C/Ds), the 87th Squadron of the 601st Air Wing (flying E-2Cs), and a detachment from the 16th Squadron of the 516th Air Wing (flying C-130Hs).
• Infrastructure: It has two asphalt runways: 10/28 (2,795 meters) and 16/34 (2,985 meters). The base shares some infrastructure with the adjacent Sphinx International Airport. It provides military fuel (Jet-A1, AVGAS), ILS/DME approaches, TACAN (BLA), fire rescue, and tower services.
• Usage: It is exclusively for military operations; there are no public civilian terminals, commercial airlines, or passenger traffic. Access is military-only, with no public transport links.

*Sources researched: en.wikipedia.org, skyvector.com, globalsecurity.org, flyallover.com, freight-academy.com*