Naval Air Station Keflavik
| Naval Air Station Keflavik | |||||||||||||||
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| Near Reykjanesbær, Southern Peninsula in Iceland | |||||||||||||||
A view of the U.S. Naval Air Station Keflavik, 19 August 1982. | |||||||||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||||||||
| Type | Naval Air Station | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Icelandic Government | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | United States Navy | ||||||||||||||
| Controlled by | Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central | ||||||||||||||
| Condition | Decommissioned | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
NAS Keflavik Location in Iceland | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 63°59′06″N 22°36′20″W / 63.98500°N 22.60556°W | ||||||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||||||
| Built | 1951 | ||||||||||||||
| In use |
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| Airfield information | |||||||||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: KEF, ICAO: BIKF, WMO: 040180 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 51.5 metres (169 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||||||
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| Airfield shared with Keflavík International Airport Source: Iceland Aeronautical Information Publication | |||||||||||||||
Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was 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 (from 2011 the agency was handed over to the Icelandic Coast Guard). Since decommissioning, the air station site was handed over to the Icelandic government, and has since been redeveloped as housing and commercial development under the Kadeco company.
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 and other tasks.
Keflavík is no longer a US military base, but it is used periodically by NATO military aircraft from several countries (including the US) for the Icelandic Air Policing operation. In 2017, the US announced its intention to restore hangars at Keflavík to accommodate Boeing P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft for short stays. There were no plans for US troops to be stationed at Keflavík.