Satellite and aerial maps of Beja (BA11) with nearby locations
Nearby locations | Km | Bearing | |
---|---|---|---|
Beja helipad , Beja | 4.8 | 103 | |
Barragem de Alqueva , Beja | 40.7 | 069 | CIAL |
Herdade da Brava , Beja | 49.5 | 146 | LPHB |
Evora , Evora | 51.5 | 003 | LPEV |
Ourique heliport , Beja | 53.0 | 209 | |
Grandola heliport , Setubal | 55.2 | 288 |
Beja (BA11) |
1964 to present | ||
38° 4' 4.5'' N 7° 55' 45'' W | ||
4.8nm NW of Beja, Beja, Beja | ||
ICAO: LPBJ | IATA: BYJ | Local: BA11 |
Elevation: 636 feet |
Opened in the mid 1960s, to serve as a fair-weather training base for Luftwaffe G91s (and later Alpha Jets) and their crews, Beja was handed back to the Portuguese Air Force and became BA-11 Beja, at the end of 1993. Its remote location makes it ideal as a NATO training and deployment base, as well as being home to PAF units - the first arrived in 1987, with 3 more following in 1993.
The base also hosts the alternate Centre for Reporting and Control (CRC), known as the Standby Operational Facility (SOF), callsign Zanaga. This provides training for CRC operators and is regularly activated, particularly during the annual Real Thaw series of NATO exercises.
List of units at Beja (BA11) |
Years | Unit | |
---|---|---|
1993- | Esq 552 | AW119Kx Koala, Alouette III, |
Beja (BA11) News |
HOT BLADE 2021
07-Jul-21 - European Defence Agency (EDA) 15th edition of the Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP) Hot Blade 21 (HB21) took place in Beja, Portugal in June with the participation of 21 aircraft from Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Slovenia and Portugal #HOTBLADEPortugal Retired Alouette III
29-Jun-20 - Portuguese Air Force retired the Alouette III helicopter after 57 years of service and 300,000 flight hours. They were replaced by the Leonardo AW119Kx KoalaFirst Two AW119Kx Delivered to Portugal
22-Feb-19 - Portugal’s Air Force received the first two of five AW119Kx in a ceremony held at Beja Air Base. Rest will followed on early 2020. The new helicopter is replacing the Alouette III in service since 1960s #DeliveryHot Blade 2018 in Portugal
08-May-18 - Portugal hosting for 4th time the European Defence Agency (EDA) helicopter exercise Hot Blade. 12th edition take place at Beja May 7-23 with Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and the Netherlands Operations at Beja (BA11) |
Dates | Operation | |
---|---|---|
07-jun-23 | 23-jun-23 | Hot Blade 2023 |
16-jun-21 | 30-jun-21 | Hot Blade 2021 |
07-may-18 | 23-may-18 | Hot Blade 2018 |
21-feb-16 | 04-mar-16 | Exercise Real Thaw 2016 |