Kant Air Base
Kant Air Base (Russian: Авиабаза Кант Aviabaza Kant) is a military air base in Ysyk-Ata District of Chuy Oblast in Kyrgyzstan. It is located just south of the city of Kant, some 20 km east of downtown Bishkek.
History
In 1941, a Soviet Air Force base and pilot training school were set up near the city of Kant, based on a school evacuated from Odessa.
During World War II, 1507 Soviet military pilots were trained there and from 1956, the school also trained foreign pilots. Among its graduates were Egyptian former president Hosni Mubarak and the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, as well as India's Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh and South Yemen Colonel Pilot Shakeeb Khobani.
In 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, control of the air base was transferred to Kyrgyzstan.
Present-day Russian base
In accordance with a bilateral agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed on 22 September 2003, the air base hosts Russian Air Force units. The official opening took place on 23 October 2003, making the facility the first new air base Russia opened abroad since 1991. The unit stationed there has been described as Russian Air Force's 5th Air Army's 999th Air Base.WorldNetDaily reported in 2012 that the lease was extended for 15 years.
Military airbase
An military airbase (sometimes referred to as a military airfield, military airport, air force station, air force base or short airbase) is an aerodrome used by a military force for the operation of military aircraft.
Airbase facilities
An airbase typically has some facilities similar to a civilian airport—for example air traffic control and firefighting. Some military aerodromes have passenger facilities; for example RAF Brize Norton in England has a terminal used by passengers for the Royal Air Force's flights by TriStar to the Falkland Islands. A number of military airbases also have a civil enclave for commercial passenger flights, e.g. Beijing Nanyuan Airport (China), Ibaraki Airport (Japan), Burlington International Airport (USA).
Some airbases have revetments, hardened aircraft shelters, or even underground hangars, to protect aircraft from enemy attack. Combat aircraft require storage of aircraft ordnance. An airbase may be defended by anti-aircraft weapons and force protection troops.
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