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

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

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

• List of American military installations
• List of countries with overseas military bases
• Base Realignment and Closure
• United States military deployments
• Lists of military installations
• American imperialism
• List of wars involving the United States

References

1. 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. "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. 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. 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. 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. "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. "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. "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. "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. "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. "The End of Drone War?". The American Conservative. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
18. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "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.