Niger Air Base 201

Niger Air Base 201
Nigerien Air Base 201
Agadez, Agadez Region in Niger
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III taking off from the base in 2021
Niger Air Base 201 is located in Niger
Niger Air Base 201
Niger Air Base 201
Coordinates16°57′01″N 8°00′50″E / 16.95028°N 8.01389°E / 16.95028; 8.01389
Site information
OwnerNiger Armed Forces
OperatorNiger Armed Forces
Site history
Built2016 (2016)–2019
In useNovember 2019 – present[1]
Airfield information
Elevation505 metres (1,657 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
07/25 1,890 metres (6,201 ft) Asphalt

Niger Air Base 201 (also known in some sources as "Nigerien Air Base 201") is a Nigerien airbase near Agadez, Niger.[2][3][4][5][6]

The base is about 5 km southeast of Agadez. It is owned by the Nigerien military but was built and paid for by the United States. It was operated by the U.S. military as a drone base. As of February 2018, the site consisted of a runway, a hangar, and numerous smaller buildings for personnel to work and live in.[7]

Construction

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Congress approved US$50 million for construction of the base, but the cost ended up exceeding $100 million.[7][8][9]: 3  The Air Base was described by U.S. officials as the largest construction project led by the United States Air Force.[10][11] A report by the Department of Defense Inspector General criticized the project for skirting congressional oversight, failing to complete an adequate site survey, and not constructing the base to meet safety, security, and other technical requirements, findings that were disputed by the Air Force and U.S. Africa Command.[11][12]

The runway was constructed to accommodate both General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper armed drones as well as the much larger Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport airplanes.[7] Runway construction was undertaken by the 31st Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers.[13] Construction was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018, but delays pushed the completion date to spring 2019.[11][14]

Operations

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The U.S. military presence at Base 201 began on 19 April 2016.[15]

In July 2019, the 409th Air Expeditionary Group and the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion were stationed at the base.[16] Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights officially began on 1 November 2019.[1]

On 16 March 2024, Niger's government announced that it was breaking off "with immediate effect" its military cooperation agreement with the United States.[17] On 7 July 2024, the U.S. completed withdrawal of all troops from Air Base 101, while 500 remaining troops left Air Base 201 on 5 August.[18][19]

On 6 August 2024, the US officially returned Air Base 201 to Nigerien control.[20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Pawlyk, Oriana (1 November 2019). "US Begins Drone Operations Out of New Niger Air Base". Military.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019.
  2. ^ Gaffey, Conor (20 September 2016). "U.S. Building '$50 Million Drone Base' in Niger". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016.
  3. ^ Damon, Arwa; Swails, Brent; Laine, Brice (21 July 2017). "This city is a tinderbox, and the US is building a drone base next door". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017.
  4. ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan; Whitlock, Craig (24 November 2017). "A city in Niger worries a new U.S. drone base will make it a 'magnet' for terrorists". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017.
  5. ^ Whitlock, Craig (1 September 2014). "Pentagon set to open second drone base in Niger as it expands operations in Africa". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014.
  6. ^ Farge, Emma (30 September 2016). "U.S. building $100 million drone base in central Niger". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Penney, Joe (18 February 2018). "Drones in the Sahara: A Massive U.S. Drone Base Could Destabilize Niger — and May Even Be Illegal Under Its Constitution". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018.
  8. ^ Turse, Nick (29 September 2016). "U.S. Military is Building a $100 Million Drone Base in Africa". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 29 September 2016.
  9. ^ Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (31 March 2020). Evaluation of Niger Air Base 201 Military Construction (PDF) (Report). DODIG-2020-077. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020.
  10. ^ Rempfer, Kyle (19 November 2018). "Completion of US drone base in Niger to be delayed". Air Force Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Rempfer, Kyle (2 April 2020). "Air Force botched building its new air base in Africa". Air Force Times. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  12. ^ Everstine, Brian W. (May 2020). "Inspector General Blasts USAF, AFRICOM" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Vol. 103, no. 5. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2024.
  13. ^ Coleman, Rachelle (24 October 2018). "RED HORSE tests materials, equipment for future flight line". United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. U.S. Air Force 31st Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operation Repair Squadron Engineer Airmen prepare a flight line test strip on Nigerien Air Base 201, Agadez, Niger, Oct. 19, 2018.
  14. ^ Seligman, Lara (4 September 2018). "Shadowy U.S. Drone War in Africa Set to Expand". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018.
  15. ^ 435th Air Expeditionary Wing (22 November 2017) [2017-04-19]. "Review of the 724 EABS' First Year in Niger". YouTube. Retrieved 6 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Boyer, Devin (8 July 2019). "Nigerien Air Base 201 Airmen, Soliders [sic] host bazaar for local vendors". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019.
  17. ^ Balima, Boureima; Felix, Bate (16 March 2024). "Niger revokes military accord with US, junta spokesperson says". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024.
  18. ^ Baldor, Lolita C. (5 July 2024). "US says troops are leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup". AP News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024.
  19. ^ Schmitt, Eric (5 August 2024). "Pentagon Hands Over Last Base in Niger as Extremism Spreads in the Sahel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024.
  20. ^ "US hands over the last military base in Niger to the ruling junta". Associated Press. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  21. ^ Welty, Charles (6 August 2024). "US completes withdrawal from AB 201" (Press release). United States Air Force. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
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