Vidsel Air Base ( ICAO : ESPE ) is a Swedish Air Force airfield located 15 km west-northwest of the town of Vidsel , in Sweden . It is a critical part of Vidsel Test Range that provides an aerospace test and evaluation asset for Sweden through the Test & Evaluation (T&E) department of Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV).
9-536: The Swedish Armed Forces, 21st Air Force Wing is the proprietor of the Air Base. By contract between SAF and FMV, FMV T&E use the base as part of the Vidsel Test Range. SAF is responsible for keeping Vidsel Air Base in operational status and that the airport related activities are carried out in accordance with Swedish military regulations. The airfield is located in the south-east corner of Vidsel Test Range, which
18-474: Is a missile test range consisting of 7,200 km restricted airspace and 3,300 km restricted ground space. There is operational support staff at Vidsel Air Base supporting airfield ops at all times. There are four runways belonging to the base, of which three are operational. There are 17 apron areas at the base. The largest are: There are also 13 smaller aprons, all approx. 400 m, suitable for single military fast jets. There are two hangars at
27-518: Is depicted on aeronautical charts with the letter "R" followed by a serial number. According to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): "Restricted areas denote the existence of unusual, often invisible, hazards to aircraft such as artillery firing, aerial gunnery, or guided missiles. Penetration of restricted areas without authorization from the using or controlling agency may be extremely hazardous to
36-521: The Swedish Air Force in north Sweden was moved to Vidsel Air Base. Vidsel Air Base was completed as a Bas 90 airbase in 1989, meaning that apart from a main runway three shorter runways had been added together with other facilities. Vidsel Air Base is able to operate all current types of aircraft used by the Swedish AF, as well as a number of other aircraft from other users, including many NATO, as
45-539: The air base, both mainly used for the operations at Vidsel Test Range. The larger one is 1800 m, and can house several military style fast jets. The smaller one is 850 m, divided in two parts, and can house two military style fast jets. There are four shelters for military style fast jets at the air base. The airfield is fitted with a NATO standard arrestor cable system, as well as Swedish standard arresting net. For normal air force operational reasons, civilian aircraft are generally not given permission to use
54-593: The aircraft and its occupants." Restricted airspace zones may not be active ("hot") at all times; in such cases there are typically schedules of local dates and times available to aviators specifying when the zone is active, and at other times, the airspace is subject to normal VFR/IFR operation for the applicable airspace class. A few zones are activated by NOTAM ; an example is R-2503D over Camp Pendleton in southern California, between San Diego and Los Angeles. This particular zone, beginning at 2000ft above sea level over most of southern Camp Pendleton, can be active only for
63-458: The airfield is equipped with an arresting wire. The following aircraft have operated from Vidsel Air Base: (Note, list not complete.) Restricted airspace Restricted airspace is an area of airspace typically used by the military in which the local controlling authorities have determined that air traffic must be restricted or prohibited for safety or security concerns. It is one of many types of special use airspace designations and
72-468: The airfield unless such use is related to defence activities. Vidsel Air Base was established as a secret wartime air base by the Swedish Air Force in 1957. It was called "Krigsflygfält nr. 42" (Wartime airbase no. 42) and not put on maps or written about. The majority of work at the base was done by personnel from the Test & Evaluation department of Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). The use of
81-430: The base was both as a dispersed airbase in case of war, and for the newly established Vidsel Test Range . The secrecy of the base was lifted in 1965, with foreign aircraft using the base from 1966, though very sparsely. During the 70's the use of the base for training of Swedish Air Force crews increased steadily, and more and more of the operations was taken over by personnel from the 21st wing. In 1980 all training for
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