Naval Air Station Keflavik

Naval Air Station Keflavik
Near Reykjanesbær, Southern Peninsula in Iceland
Three US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft parked on the apron of NAS Keflavik during November 2019
NAS Keflavik is located in Iceland
NAS Keflavik
NAS Keflavik
Location in Iceland
Coordinates63°59′06″N 22°36′20″W / 63.98500°N 22.60556°W / 63.98500; -22.60556
TypeNaval Air Station
Site information
OwnerIcelandic Government
OperatorUnited States Navy
Controlled byNavy Region Europe, Africa, Central
ConditionOperational
Site history
Built1951 (1951)
In use
  • 1951 – 2006
  • 2017 – present
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: KEF, ICAO: BIKF, WMO: 040180
Elevation51.5 metres (169 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
10/28 3,065 metres (10,056 ft) Asphalt
01/19 3,054 metres (10,020 ft) Asphalt
04/22 2,042 metres (6,699 ft) Asphalt
09/27 1,494 metres (4,902 ft) Asphalt
18/36 1,310 metres (4,298 ft) Asphalt
Airfield shared with Keflavík International Airport
Source: Iceland Aeronautical Information Publication[1]

Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) is a United States Navy air station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilities were taken over by the Icelandic Defence Agency as their primary base until 1 January 2011, when the Agency was abolished and the base handed over to the Icelandic Coast Guard, which operated the base until 2017.[2] US forces returned to Keflavik in 2016, renovating parts of the base to accommodate P-8As on short duration/expeditionary detachments.[3][4]

The base was built during World War II by the United States Army as part of its mission to maintain the defense of Iceland and secure northern Atlantic air routes. It served to ferry personnel, equipment, and supplies to Europe. Intended as a temporary wartime base under an agreement with Iceland and the British, U.S. forces withdrew by 1947 but returned in 1951 as the Iceland Defense Force resident on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base. The base was regularly visited by the American military and other NATO allies for military exercises, NATO Air Policing, and other tasks. In 2017, the United States announced its intention to modify the largest hangar on the Icelandic base in order to house the new Boeing P-8 Poseidon ASW aircraft being introduced.[5]

  1. ^ "BIKF - Keflavik". Iceland Aeronautical Information Publication. Icelandic Transport Authority. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Security and Defence - Landhelgisgæsla Íslands". Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  3. ^ "European Reassurance Initiative" (PDF). defense.gov. February 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  4. ^ Enge, Berit; Finne, Washington og Arne F.; Bodø. "Waking up the Keflavik air base; US Navy returned after 10 years of absence". www.highnorthnews.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ Snow, Shawn (17 December 2017). "US plans $200 million buildup of European air bases flanking Russia". Retrieved 18 April 2018.