Los Llanos Air Base, the home of the Spanish Eurofighters of the 14th Wing, from the inside

One of the oldest Spanish military aviation bases is located south of the capital of the province of Albacete, in Castile-La Mancha.

The visit of the popular youtuber Ángel Gaitán to the Albacete Air Base and Maestranza
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Los Llanos Air Base was founded in 1929, initially as a civilian airfield. During the Spanish Civil War, although the base initially remained in the hands of the Nationalist side, it soon fell into the hands of the Republican side, which installed the Republican Military Aviation General Staff there. After the founding of the Air Force on October 7, 1939, the Albacete base was officially named Los Llanos Aerodrome.

The Albacete Air Workshop (MAESAL) was founded at this base in 1939, the most important of the three maintenance and repair centers of the Air Force (the other two workshops are in Madrid and Seville). Currently, this center is in charge of the inspections and repairs of the EF-18 Hornet and Eurofighter fighters, the CL-215T and CL-415 firefighting planes, the C-101 Aviojet and F-5M trainers, the C-212, CN-235, C-295 and Falcon 900 transport planes, and the Super Puma and S-76 helicopters, among other aircraft.

For a few years, from 1946 to 1955, this base was also a civil airport, a status it lost due to its limited operations of that type. In 1974 this base hosted the founding of the 14th Wing, equipped with Mirage F1 fighters since 1975 (aircraft that still appear on the emblem of this unit, which we can see above these lines), focusing this base on combat aviation.

The 14th Wing began its journey with a single combat unit under its control, the 141st Squadron (with the radio call sign "Chico", although its pilots are colloquially known as "perros" [dogs] due to their unit's emblem), and in 1980 a second one was formed, the 142nd Squadron (with the radio call sign "Dardo", although its pilots are known as "tigres" [tigers] due to their emblem). Both squadrons depend on the Air Force's Air Combat Command (MACOM).

Above these lines you can see the monument commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 14th Wing at the Albacetre Air Base and, behind it, two Mirage F1M detours: one from the 142nd Squadron (left) and one from the 141st Squadron (right), with the respective emblems of each unit.

In 2012, the 14th Wing became the second Air Force unit to receive the new Eurofighter Typhoons (the first was the 11th Wing at Morón). This unit was also the last to operate the Mirage F1s, which made their official farewell in Los Llanos on June 23, 2013.

Furthermore, The Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), known as "NATO's Top Gun), has been taught at this base since 2009. Ten countries participate in this program: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the United States, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The TLP offers advanced courses on air combat operations to participating pilots, which has made Los Llanos a reference base for combat aviation in Europe. You can read more about the TLP here.

The photos you see in this article were taken yesterday by Rubén Somonte and have been published by the Ministry of Defense. They show a visit by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, to Los Llanos Air Base this Friday, July 25. Above these lines we can see two Dassault Mirage F1M fighters preserved as monuments at this base, the C.14-91 (left) and the C.14-01 (right).

During this visit, Robles announced that the first Eurofighters from Tranche 4 received by the Air Force will arrive at Ala 14 in 2028 or 2029. The purchase of these aircraft, a total of 45, is part of the Halcón program.

You can see more photos from this series from the Ministry of Defense, showing the hangars at this base, below. Click on each image to enlarge it.

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Photos: Rubén Somonte / Ministerio de Defensa.