Gando Air Base

Gando Air Base is a Spanish Air and Space Force facility located on the island of Gran Canaria, situated east of the Gran Canaria Airport runways. The first landing at the site occurred in January 1924 by Breguet XIV aircraft. In 1939, the first Spanish Military Aviation Detachment arrived, establishing the Forces of the Atlantic. The base separated its civil and military operations between 1944 and 1946 following the construction of a dedicated passenger terminal.

The base hosts Ala 46, which consists of 462 and 802 Squadrons. These units defend the Spanish airspace surrounding the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands Air Command (MACAN), headquartered in Las Palmas, manages the maintenance and preparation of the units at Gando. Infrastructure includes maintenance hangars and ten hardened aircraft shelters located at the southern end of the eastern runway.

Current aircraft assets include McDonnell Douglas EF-18 Hornets (designated C-15), which were previously operated by the United States Navy. The base also operates CASA CN-235 and Airbus Helicopters H215 aircraft for Search and Rescue (SAR) duties, alongside the CASA C-212 Aviocar. Under MACAN regulations, any Spanish military aircraft landing in the Canary Islands is placed under the command’s authority for missions within the archipelago.

Historical operations include the 1957–1958 Ifni War, where the base hosted Ju-52, He-111, and DC-3 aircraft. During the Western Sahara crisis in the mid-1970s, F-5 aircraft deployed to Gando flew over 500 missions, including combat air patrols and reconnaissance. Mirage F-1 aircraft were introduced to 462 Squadron in 1982, before being replaced by the EF-18 in 1999.

Recent developments include the base’s role as a platform for NATO operations in West Africa during the 2013 intervention in Mali. Twenty Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft are on order to replace the existing EF-18 fleet. Gando provides the aerial assets for the Lanzarote Military Aerodrome, which operates the EVA 22 air defense radar. In 1997, the base was utilized for the launch of the Minisat 01 satellite.