Tal Afar Air Base (FOB Sykes)
Summary
| Operating Country | 🇮🇶 Iraq • 🇺🇸 United States |
| Location | 🇮🇶 Iraq |
| Status | ◉ Inactive |
| Usage | Military only |
| Year built | 1983 |
| Operating Organization | Iraqi Air Force |
Location & Details
| Coordinates | 36.2844°N, 42.4047°E |
| ICAO code | ORTF |
| Runways |
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Description
Tal Afar Air Base is located near Tal Afar in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq. The Belgian company SIX-CFE constructed the facility between 1982 and 1984 for the Iraqi Air Force. Infrastructure at the site consists of high-speed approaches, taxiways, cross-over links, and an apron. The installation includes dispersal facilities with hardstands and aircraft bunkers. Yugoslav contractors installed hardened aircraft shelters, known as "Yugos," at the site.
Coalition ground forces seized the base in 2003 and designated the facility Forward Operating Base Sykes. United States forces operated the installation until 2011, when it was transferred to Iraqi control. In June 2014, ISIS militants occupied the base and utilized the facility as a detention center and a training camp for the Knights of War Battalion. Iraqi forces, supported by the Popular Mobilization Forces, recaptured the air base in November 2016.