Morón Air Base

Morón Air Base is located 56 km southeast of Seville, Spain, within the municipality of Arahal. Established in 1940 as Aeródromo militar Vázquez Sagastizábal, the facility became operational in 1941 for training Spanish Air Force fighter pilots. In 1953, the Pacts of Madrid granted the United States use of the installation. Initial U.S. operations began in 1958 with Boeing B-47 Stratojets, KC-97 Stratotankers, and rotational F-100 Super Sabre squadrons. The base transitioned from Strategic Air Command to U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) in 1966 and was designated a NASA Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site in 1984.

The base is under Spanish command and sovereignty. It hosts the Spanish Air Force 11th Wing (Ala 11), equipped with Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, and the 221 Squadron, which operates P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. Other Spanish units include the 2nd Air Deployment Support Squadron (SEADA), the 2nd Emergency Intervention Battalion of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME-BIEM II), and a Customs Surveillance Service detachment. United States forces at the base include the 496th Air Base Squadron and Detachment 4 of the 21st Operations Group. A 2015 bilateral agreement allows a permanent U.S. presence of up to 2,200 military personnel, 500 civilians, and 26 aircraft.

Infrastructure includes support installations for flight operations, maintenance, communications, and material storage. The base maintains a permanent USAF tanker detachment and an integrated ground aircraft refueling system. It serves as a transit and staging point for aircraft moving toward the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Middle East.

Recent operations include serving as a tanker hub for Operation Unified Protector in Libya during 2011. Between 2013 and 2021, the base hosted a U.S. Marine Corps crisis response force equipped with V-22 Osprey and KC-130J aircraft; this unit relocated to Vicenza, Italy, in November 2021. In April 2019, the 496th Air Base Squadron was realigned under the 65th Air Base Group to support the Atlantic Air Bridge. Historically, the base hosted the 801st Bomb Wing (Provisional) during the 1991 Gulf War and the 92nd Air Expeditionary Wing during the 1999 Kosovo War.