🇮🇹 Ghedi Air Base

Ghedi Air Base (ICAO: LIPL) is an active military air base of the Italian Air Force, located approximately 15 kilometers southeast of Brescia, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy,.

Type of Facility and Operations:

• It is a military-only facility.
• The base is home to the 6º Stormo (6th Wing) of the Italian Air Force,.
• The 6º Stormo includes the 102º Gruppo and 154º Gruppo, which operate F-35A Lightning II aircraft, and the 155º Gruppo, which operates the Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance),.
• Ghedi Air Base is one of six active air bases in Europe that house B61 nuclear bombs in underground Weapon Storage and Security System (WS3) vaults within aircraft shelters,. These weapons are maintained by the U.S. Air Force 704th Munitions Support Squadron (MUNSS) during peacetime.

Notable Features or History:

• The base was built in 1909,.
• During the Cold War, the unit operated F-84F Thunderstreaks and Panavia Tornado IDS strike aircraft.
• It has undergone upgrades to support F-35A operations and is certified for NATO nuclear missions.
• As of 2019, it housed more than 40 nuclear weapons.
• Turkish Air Force F-16s were based at Ghedi from 1995, supporting operations over Bosnia and later participating in Allied Force operations in 1999.

Current Status:

• Ghedi Air Base is currently active.
• It has a main runway (13/31) that is 2,991 meters (9,813 feet) long with an asphalt surface,,.

*Sources researched: en.wikipedia.org, globalmilitary.net, skyvector.com, globalsecurity.org, skybrary.aero*