Albacete Air Base

Albacete Air Base, also designated Los Llanos Air Base, is located 4 km south of Albacete. The site was selected in the mid-1910s as a midpoint between Cuatro Vientos and Los Alcázares and inaugurated in September 1923 as Aeródromo de La Torrecica. The Compañía Española de Aviación conducted pilot training there between 1924 and 1932 using Avro 504 and Bristol F.2 Fighter aircraft. During the Spanish Civil War, the base functioned as the headquarters for the Republican Military Aviation and hosted the International Brigades and the Escuadrilla Malraux. Following the conflict, the Spanish Air Force established the 13th Bombardment Regiment at the site, operating Tupolev SB-2M and Junkers Ju 88 aircraft. From 1957, the base hosted Ala 26 with CASA 2111 bombers, followed by Ala 37 operating Douglas DC-3 and DHC-4 Caribou transports.

Ala 14 was established at the base in March 1974 for combat operations. The unit consists of Escuadrón 141 and Escuadrón 142. The wing operated Mirage F1 fighters until 2013, when they were replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon. Currently, the base hosts Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. Since July 2003, the facility has shared infrastructure with the civilian Albacete Airport.

The base houses the Maestranza Aérea de Albacete (MAESAL), responsible for the maintenance and repair of Eurofighter Typhoon, CASA C-101 Aviojet, and Canadair CL-215 aircraft. Since 2009, it has served as the permanent site for the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), which conducts tactical flight courses and academic training for international aircrews. The base also conducts joint activities with the adjacent Chinchilla National Training Center.

International deployments include the 2006 Baltic Air Policing mission in Lithuania and the 2002 Exercise Cope Thunder in Alaska. The base hosted NATO Tiger Meet exercises in 1992 and 2006. In October 2017, an Ala 14 Eurofighter Typhoon crashed during an approach to the base, resulting in a pilot fatality.