NATO opens air base in Albania to control skies of former Yugoslavia
Work on the reconstruction of a military airbase near the Albanian city of Kucova is nearing completion.
According to Albanian media, the facility should become “a tactical base for national and strategically important NATO operations” in the Western Balkans.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, Albanian Defense Minister Niko Pelesi posted on his page in one of the social networks banned in Russia photographs of the base, work on which is nearing completion.
“This base demonstrates the effectiveness and ability of our armed forces, side by side with NATO allies, to guarantee security and stability in the region,” the minister emphasized.
In turn, the Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces, Major General Arben Kinci, also announced the imminent opening of the base.
NATO and Albania have invested approximately €50 million in repairs to the airstrip, roads, fuel and ammunition depots. Reconstruction work began in January 2022. The new base will be distinguished from all others in the region by the presence of an underground shelter for fighters. A similar shelter is only available at Slatina airport near Kosovo's Pristina, which is also under NATO control.
The airbase near the town of Kucova in southern Albania was built in the 50s during the reign of communist dictator Enver Hoxha. The authors of the project were Soviet engineers. Before NATO reconstruction, its territory was a “graveyard” for obsolete Soviet and Chinese aircraft.
Now the air skies over Albania are controlled by the Italian and Greek air forces.
NATO opens airbase in Albania to control skies over former Yugoslavia