List of the United States drone bases

This is a list of United States drone bases, containing military bases from which the United States operates unmanned aerial vehicles.

Active

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Country Base, location Operation

dates

Operations Notes
Burkina Faso Ouagadougou Airport[1] since 2007[1] surveillance of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb over Mali, Mauritania and the Sahara[1]
Cameroon Garoua International Airport, Garoua[2] fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria[2]
Chad N’Djamena[3] since 2014[4] fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria[4]
Djibouti Chabelley Airport[5] since 2013[5]
Germany Ramstein Air Base
Kuwait Ali Al Salem Air Base[6] from at least 2014 bombing ISIL in Iraq[6]
Philippines Zamboanga International Airport[7] since 2012[8] bombing Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah in Southern Philippines[8]
Qatar Al Udeid Air Base[6] bombing ISIL in Iraq[6]
Saudi Arabia Umm Al Melh Border Guards Airport[9] since 2011[9] bombing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIL in Yemen[10][11] secret CIA base[10]
Seychelles United States drone base in Seychelles,

Seychelles International Airport

since 2009 surveillance of Al-Shabaab over Somalia
Somalia Kismayo Airport[12] surveillance of Al-Shabaab over Somalia[12] operated by the Joint Special Operations Command[12]
Tunisia Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed Air Base[13] since June 2016[14] surveillance missions over Libya[14]
Turkey Incirlik Air Base, Adana[15] bombing ISIL and other groups in Syria[16]
United Arab Emirates Al Dhafra Air Base[6] bombing ISIL in Iraq[6]

Former

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Country Base, location Operation

dates

Operations Notes
Afghanistan Kandahar International Airport until 2022
Afghanistan Forward Operating Base Chapman, Khost[17] until 2022 CIA facility[17]
Afghanistan Jalalabad Airport[17] until 2022 CIA-operated drones[17]
Afghanistan Bagram Airfield[17] until 2022 CIA-operated drones[17]
Djibouti Camp Lemonnier[18] 2010[18]-2013[5] bombing Al-Shabaab in Somalia, and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIL in Yemen[18] operations moved to Chabelley over public safety concerns[5]
Ethiopia Arba Minch Airport[19] 2011-2016 bombing Al Qaeda in East Africa[19]
Italy Naval Air Station Sigonella[20] 2016-2019[20] bombing ISIL in Libya in defense of special forces fighting ISIL[20]
Mauritania Nouakchott[1] until 2008[1] operations ended after the 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état[1]
Niger Nigerien Air Base 201, Agadez 2019-2024[21] operations ended after the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
Niger Mano Dayak International Airport, Agadez[22] 2014-2024[22] operations ended after the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
Niger Diori Hamani International Airport, Niamey 2013-2024[22] operations ended after the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état
Pakistan Shamsi Airfield, Balochistan province[23] until 2011[23] bombing Taliban and other Islamist militants in the tribal areas of Pakistan[23] CIA ordered to leave after killing of Pakistani soldiers[23]
Uzbekistan Karshi-Khanabad Air Base until 2005[24] CIA facility evicted by the Uzbek government[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Whitlock, Craig (2012-06-13). "U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2020-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  2. ^ a b "Can the US' new drone base in Cameroon help fight Boko Haram?". Public Radio International. Archived from the original on 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  3. ^ "Dealing With Boko Haram". The New York Times. 2014-05-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  4. ^ a b Londoño, Ernesto (2014-05-21). "U.S. deploys 80 troops to Chad to help find kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  5. ^ a b c d Whitlock, Craig; Miller, Greg (2013-09-24). "U.S. moves drone fleet from Camp Lemonnier to ease Djibouti's safety concerns". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Whitlock, Craig (2014-08-25). "U.S. relies on Persian Gulf bases for airstrikes in Iraq". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ^ Welch, Micah Zenko, Emma (29 May 2012). "Where the Drones Are". Archived from the original on 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b "Deadly Drone Strike on Muslims in the Southern Philippines". The Brookings Institution. 2012-03-05. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  9. ^ a b "Is This the Secret U.S. Drone Base in Saudi Arabia?". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  10. ^ a b "CIA operating drone base in Saudi Arabia, US media reveal - BBC News". BBC News. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  11. ^ "In a first, U.S. launches deadly strikes on ISIS training camps in Yemen". The Washington Post. 2017-10-17. Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  12. ^ a b c "Exclusive: U.S. Operates Drones From Secret Bases in Somalia". Foreign Policy. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  13. ^ "Drone Bases Updates". October 1, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "U.S. has secretly expanded its global network of drone bases to North Africa". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  15. ^ "US Drone Crashes in Turkey". Defense News. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  16. ^ "U.S. begins armed drone flights out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey". CBS News. 3 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "The End of Drone War?". The American Conservative. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  18. ^ a b c Whitlock, Craig (2012-10-25). "Remote U.S. base at core of secret operations". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  19. ^ a b Whitlock, Craig (2011-10-27). "U.S. drone base in Ethiopia is operational". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  20. ^ a b c Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (2016-02-22). "Italy to allow US drones to fly out of Sicily air base for attacks on Isis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  21. ^ Turse, Nick (27 February 2020). "Pentagon's Own Map of U.S. Bases in Africa Contradicts Its Claim of "Light" Footprint". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  22. ^ a b c Whitlock, Craig (2014-08-31). "Pentagon set to open second drone base in Niger as it expands operations in Africa". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  23. ^ a b c d Masood, Salman (2011-12-11). "C.I.A. Leaves Pakistan Base Used for Drone Strikes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  24. ^ a b "US seeks new bases for drones targeting al-Qaida in Pakistan". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-04-11.