Morón Air Base

Morón Air Base (IATA: OZP, ICAO: LEMO) is located at 37°10′N 5°36′W / 37.167°N 5.600°W / 37.167; -5.600 in southern Spain, approximately 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the city of Seville.

The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera, while it is located inside the municipality of Arahal.

Currently the base is home to Ala 11, a fighter wing of Eurofighter Typhoons of the Spanish Air and Space Force.

The following year it began to function as a military airfield and was utilised to train fighter pilots for the Spanish Army Air Force.

On May 13, 1958, the first flight of Boeing B-47 Stratojets were assigned to Morón Air Base to conduct Reflex operations and then Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters arrived to conduct strip alert tanker missions, and six weeks later the first rotational fighter squadron, the 1st Fighter-Day Squadron, flying North American F-100 Super Sabres and commanded by Lt. Col. Chuck Yeager, arrived from George Air Force Base, CA, for temporary duty to conduct air defence alert.

The mission changed to communications support, temporary duty (TDY) "fair weather" flying operations for McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom IIs from RAF Alconbury, and McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo from RAF Upper Heyford, United Kingdom and the support of air rescue operations provided by the 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.

Special navigation and landing aids were installed, and Spanish personnel were trained to recover the Space Shuttle orbiter after an emergency landing—one that never came.

In addition during the 1980 and 1990s, U.S. Air Force airmen deployed to Morón during Shuttle launching periods to help provide onsite weather reporting as well as crash/rescue capability.

From 1995 to 1997, Morón was a popular staging area to host Coronet East movements to and from Turkey and Southwest Asia with over 95 fighter and tanker missions.

In 1999, Morón became the home of the 92nd Air Expeditionary Wing – tasked with providing fuel to Operation Allied Force of the Kosovo War.

Under the agreement, up to 3,000 American troops and civilians of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Africa can be stationed there, while the number of aircraft can be increased to 40, up from the previous limit of 14.

On 9 June 2014, at around 14:00 CEST (12:00 GMT), a pilot died after his Eurofighter Typhoon crashed whilst landing on the runway at the base.

U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response and Airmen with the 496th Air Base Squadron participate in a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Morón Air Base, Spain, Sept. 11, 2013.
C-17s at Morón AB during Operation Enduring Freedom
US Marines KC-130 refueling AV-8 Harrier of the Spanish Navy near Morón Air Base
Citizens visiting the base at the 2015 Morón Air Base Open House. In the foreground an U.S. V-22 Osprey and in the background three CASA C-101 of the Spanish Patrulla Águila ("Eagle Patrol").
Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon of Ala 11 at Morón
U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa board an MV-22 Osprey during an alert force drill on Morón Air Base, Spain, Feb. 19, 2015. SPMAGTF-CR-AF maintains an alert status in order to respond to crises and regularly conducts unscripted events to test its ability to react at a moment’s notice.
Aerial view of Morón Air Base