newstodate.aero
Sep 17, 2015 (newstodate): Keflavik Airport was an important military base for USAF until 2006 - and USA may be considering a return in light of the current worries over Russia's military strategies.
Russian military aircraft have regularly passed close to Icelandic airspace on Atlantic maneuvers, but have also recently been spotted on flights focusing on Iceland itself.
Lacking an own air force, the airspace of Iceland is patrolled by NATO allies, notably Denmark, as part of the Icelandic Air Policing operation.
According to Icelandic media, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work recently visited Iceland to discuss future operations at Keflavik Air Base with Icelandic officials, and Iceland's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that USA has vented an interest in a return to Keflavik while no official negotiations concerning this have yet been conducted.
When the US military closed down its military base at Keflavik Airport in September, 2006, it left vast resources unused in the form of installations, runway capacity and buildings.
Due to the international and semi-military character of Keflavik Airport it is still under the jurisdiction of Iceland's ministry of foreign affairs, while the domestic Reykjavik Airport near the city belongs to the ministry of transportation.
Russian military aircraft have regularly passed close to Icelandic airspace on Atlantic maneuvers, but have also recently been spotted on flights focusing on Iceland itself.
Lacking an own air force, the airspace of Iceland is patrolled by NATO allies, notably Denmark, as part of the Icelandic Air Policing operation.
According to Icelandic media, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work recently visited Iceland to discuss future operations at Keflavik Air Base with Icelandic officials, and Iceland's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that USA has vented an interest in a return to Keflavik while no official negotiations concerning this have yet been conducted.
When the US military closed down its military base at Keflavik Airport in September, 2006, it left vast resources unused in the form of installations, runway capacity and buildings.
Due to the international and semi-military character of Keflavik Airport it is still under the jurisdiction of Iceland's ministry of foreign affairs, while the domestic Reykjavik Airport near the city belongs to the ministry of transportation.