Brzeg-Skarbimierz Air Base

The closure was a direct consequence of major geopolitical shifts, specifically the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, and the subsequent withdrawal of the Soviet Army's Northern Group of Forces from Polish territory. After the Russian military departed, the Polish Armed Forces did not have a strategic need to maintain it as an active air base, leading to its demilitarization and transfer to civilian authorities for redevelopment.

The former air base has been extensively redeveloped and is now a major industrial and logistics hub. A large portion of the site is part of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone 'INVEST-PARK', hosting numerous factories and warehouses for international companies (e.g., Mondelez, Johnson Matthey Battery Systems, Donaldson). The residential area built for the former base personnel is now the independent village of Skarbimierz-Osiedle.

While most of the military infrastructure is gone, a significant portion of the original main runway (approx. 2500m x 60m) and some taxiways remain intact. This remaining section is registered as a civil landing site ('lądowisko') with the national ICAO designator PL-0006. It is used primarily for general aviation, sport flying, ultralight aircraft, and occasional automotive events or driver training. It is not a commercial airport and has no passenger terminal or regular scheduled services.

The air base has a rich and significant history spanning multiple eras.

1. **German Era (1930s-1945):** Originally constructed by the German Luftwaffe in the 1930s as 'Fliegerhorst Brieg'. It was a major air base and played a crucial role during the 1939 invasion of Poland, hosting bomber units like Kampfgeschwader 77. Throughout WWII, it served as a base for various training, bomber, and fighter units operating on the Eastern Front.

2. **Soviet Era (1945-1993):** After World War II, the base was taken over by the Soviet Air Force and became a crucial forward operating base for the Warsaw Pact in Poland. It was home to various Soviet aviation units over the decades, including fighter-bomber regiments. In its later years, it was most notably the home of the 151st Independent Electronic Warfare Helicopter Regiment, flying specialized versions of the Mi-8 helicopter (like the Mi-8PPA and Mi-8SMV). The base played a significant strategic role during the Cold War, projecting Soviet air power and electronic warfare capabilities into Central Europe.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening the site as a large-scale commercial or military airport. The extensive and ongoing industrial development, with numerous factories built directly on former aprons and taxiways, makes such a conversion economically unviable and logistically impossible. Its future is firmly established as an industrial zone, with a small, co-located airstrip for recreational and general aviation purposes being its only remaining aviation function.