Rygge Air Force Base

Rygge Air Force Base
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons taking off from Rygge
IATA: RYG ICAO: ENRY
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Royal Norwegian Air Force
Location	Rygge
Elevation AMSL	174 ft / 53 m
Coordinates	59°22′44″N 10°47′08″E
Map
Rygge Location in Norway
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30 8,012 2,442 Asphalt

Rygge Air Force Base (IATA: RYG, ICAO: ENRY) (Norwegian: Rygge flystasjon) is located in the municipalities of Moss and Råde in Østfold county, Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) operates various squadron and aircraft at the airbase, including AgustaWestland AW101 SAR Queen and Bell 412 helicopters.

Rygge AFB houses RNoAFs headquarters and staff, Air Force Operations Inspectorate and Air Force Training Inspectorate.^[1]

History

720 Squadron was moved from Gardermoen Air Station to Rygge. In 1989 their UH-1B helicopters were replaced with Bell 412s. In 2002, 332 Squadron with F-16 Fighting Falcons was moved from Rygge to Bodø Main Air Station. Some of the aircraft were relocated to Ørland Main Air Station.

On 1 October 2007, the base was expanded to include the civilian Moss Airport, Rygge, which will be shut down again on 1 November 2016.^[2] The United States Department of Defense FY19 budget has requested $13.8 million being spent for taxiway construction at Rygge airport to expand operational capabilities as a part of the European Deterrence Initiative.^[3]

In 2016, Rygge once again became an air force base under the name Air Force Base Rygge (Norwegian: Luftforsvarets base Rygge).^[4]

Operations

339 Special Operations Aviation Squadron's Bell 412SP aircraft used primarily to support the Norwegian Special Operations Command and Norwegian Police Service SWAT units. 717 Squadron operates two Dassault Falcon 20 jets performing electronic-warfare (EW) and EW training.^[5] A detachment of 330 Squadron operates AgustaWestland AW101 SAR Queen helicopters for search and rescue.

Other represented units from the Norwegian Armed Forces include the Home Guard, Norwegian Defence Logistics Organization, The Norwegian Defense Estates Agency and Norwegian Cyber Defence Force.

References

1. "The Royal Norwegian Air Force". Norwegian Armed Forces. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
2. newsinenglish.no - Ryanair’s airport ‘will shut down’ 24 May 2016
3. Gould, Joe; Insinna, Valerie (June 25, 2018). "Poking the bear: US Air Force builds in Russia's backyard". Defense News. The Air Force also wants $13.8 million in FY19 for taxiway construction at Rygge, Norway.
4. "Rygge hovedflystasjon".
5. Dalløkken, Per Erlien (19 November 2017). "Dette ble en av de siste turene med Kongeflyet" (in Norwegian). Teknisk Ukeblad. Retrieved 27 July 2022.

External links

Media related to Rygge Air Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Royal Norwegian Air Force' page on Rygge (in Norwegian)