Jehonville Air Base

Jehonville Air Base

Jehonville Air Base, also known as Bertrix Air Base, is a NATO reserve airfield located in Jehonville, a municipality in Bertrix, Belgium. It is operated by the Belgian Air Component even though there are no regular operations at that field, and it is home to the Belgian Air Cadets. The base was constructed in 1958 to meet a NATO desire to increase its force dispersal to be able to resist massive unexpected aerial attack and retain the ability to launch a retalitory attack. It was one of four European bases that was assigned to the 422 Squadron of the 1 Canadian Air Division under NATO plan MC 60, and the airfield became operational on 29 August 1958. Aviation operations started on 31 December 1958, despite construction not being completed until the next year. The base was constructed to NATO standards of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), and was later extended by another 200 metres (660 ft) on each end, making the total length 2,800 metres (9,200 ft).