Avord Air Base
Avord Air Base (ICAO: LFOA) or BA 702 (French: Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon), named after Captain Georges Madon, is a base of the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace) located 2.8 km (1.7 mi) north northwest[1] of Avord in central France.
Avord Air Base (BA 702)  Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon | |||||||||||
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 E-3 Sentry taking off from Avord Air Base | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of France | ||||||||||
| Operator | Armée de l'air et de l'espace | ||||||||||
| Location | Avord, France | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 580 ft / 177 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 47°03′12″N 002°37′57″E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  LFOA Location of airport in France | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: Aerodrome chart at Direction de la Circulation Aerienne Militaire (DIRCAM)[1] | |||||||||||
Airbase 702 hosts about 2,500 personnel (French Air and Space Force military and some civilian). Because of its strategic location in the middle of France it is extremely suitable as a multi purpose base. It has a single runway 06/24, 3,503 m × 45 m (11,493 ft × 148 ft).
Units on the base
- Escadron de détection et de contrôle aéroportés 36 Berry which flies the Boeing E-3F[2]
- Its role is to carry out airborne surveillance, and command, control and communications (C3) functions for both tactical and air defense forces. The French designation is E-3 SDA (Systeme de Detection Aeroporté). Additional units attached: mission support flight, training flight, technical flight support and logistic flight.
- École de L'Aviation de Transport 319 Capitaine Jean Dartiques flying the Embraer EMB 121 Xingu[2]
- Escadron D'Instruction en Vol Fourchambault[2]
The base perimeter contains some maximum-security zones with:
- A Special Ammuniations Storage (SAS) or dépôt atelier munitions spécialisées (DAMS). Storage of appx. 60 of FAF's stockpile of Air-Sol Moyenne Portée ASMP nuclear midrange air ground missiles.
- Two hardened alert facilities. One is hosting for Dassault Mirage 2000N combat aircraft, normally home based at Istres Air Base (BA 125) or at Luxeuil - Saint-Sauveur Air Base (BA 116). These planes are detached here on a rotating cycles to comply to the French nuclear deterrence mission. The other facility hosts E-3F airplanes and KC-135 tankers, normally home based at Istres, but detached to Avord AB to be used with some AWACS and strike missions.
Other support units:
- technical maintenance depot.
- entrepôt de munition de l'armée de l'air Savigny-en-Septaine, a conventional ammo storage unit.
- 1H.702 firefighting/rescue and nuclear decontamination unit.
- 12.802 strategic telecom unit.
- 02.950 air defense sqn (escadron de défense sol-air) Sancerre equipped with the Crotale and MBDA Mistral short range air defense systems.
- 1G.702 security squadron (escadron de protection) Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air responsible for security and base protection.
References
- LFOA - AVORD
- "Chiffres clés de l'Armée de l'air - L'Armée de l'air en chiffres : 2019-2020 (FR)". French Air and Space Force. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
External links
- Official site Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon (French)
- 00.036 Berry (French)
- Le CASSIC- the EWF (French)
- Current weather for LFOA at NOAA/NWS
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