Gilze-Rijen Air Base

Gilze-Rijen Air Base Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen (Advanced Landing Ground B-77)
Antonov An-124 being loaded at Gilze-Rijen in 2005
IATA: GLZ ICAO: EHGR
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Military of the Netherlands
Operator	Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu)
Location	Gilze en Rijen, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Built	1910
Elevation AMSL	15 m / 49 ft
Coordinates	51°34′02″N 004°55′54″E / 51.56722°N 4.93167°E / 51.56722; 4.93167Coordinates: 51°34′02″N 004°55′54″E / 51.56722°N 4.93167°E / 51.56722; 4.93167
Website	www.luchtmacht.nl/gilzerijen/
Map
EHGR Location of Gilze-Rijen Air Base
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,779 9,117 Asphalt 02/20 1,996 6,549 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF

Gilze-Rijen Air Base (Dutch: Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen, IATA: GLZ, ICAO: EHGR) is a military airbase in the Netherlands located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, in the Noord-Brabant province. It is mainly, but not exclusively used as a base for attack helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest, complete with instrument landing system (ILS) is 2,779 metres (9,117 ft) long by 45 m (148 ft) wide in the 10/28 direction. The shorter runway (without ILS) is 1,996 m (6,549 ft) by 30 m (98 ft) in the 02/20 direction.

Gilze-Rijen Air Base is one of the oldest airfields in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910. The first military aircraft activity dates back to 1913, when a Farman aircraft used the field for military exercises which established it as a military airfield.

In 1940, the airfield came under heavy attack from the German Luftwaffe, who later took control of the base and expanded it for their own use. While in German hands during the Second World War, the field came under frequent attack from allied forces until the liberation of the south of the Netherlands, after which the British Royal Air Force took control of the airfield.

In 1946, the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and air traffic controllers. In 1962, training activity was suspended, and Gilze-Rijen was reduced to a reserve base for bomber aircraft. Training activity was resumed in 1967 however. In 1971, the training activity was suspended again when a fighter squadron was moved to the airfield, which also included a significant upgrade of airport facilities. Initially the Northrop NF-5A/B, and later its replacement, the General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, were operated from the base up until 1995. It has 30 Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS).