Prince Hassan Air Base

The airfield was established as a landing strip associated with the Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline's H-5 pumping station, being used by Royal Air Force and Iraq Petroleum Company mail aircraft operating between Baghdad, Amman, and Cairo. In 1969, the airfield was opened as a military base, being named after Prince Hassan bin Talal, then Crown Prince of Jordan. No. 9 Squadron RJAF was established at the base, operating Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighters. In 1994, the Fighter Weapons Instructor School was moved to the base. No. 6 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron RJAF has been based at the airfield in the past, but has since moved to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. ==Current use==

As of 2015, No. 17 Squadron RJAF with Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs was stationed at the base. The United States Air Force has used the base occasionally since the 1980s, with a 2017 report noting that U.S. Air Force C-17s are transiting the airfield regularly. The French Air and Space Force has been using Prince Hassan Air Base as a base of operation since 2014, deploying six Mirage 2000 fighter jets there, which were replaced in 2017 by four Rafales. ==References==