Naval Air Station Keflavik

Naval Air Station Keflavik
Near Reykjanesbær, Southern Peninsula in Iceland
A view of the U.S. Naval Air Station Keflavik, 19 August 1982.
Site information
TypeNaval Air Station
OwnerIcelandic Government
OperatorUnited States Navy
Controlled byNavy Region Europe, Africa, Central
ConditionDecommissioned
Location
NAS Keflavik
Location in Iceland
Coordinates63°59′06″N 22°36′20″W / 63.98500°N 22.60556°W / 63.98500; -22.60556
Site history
Built1951 (1951)
In use
  • 1951 – 2006
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: KEF, ICAO: BIKF, WMO: 040180
Elevation51.5 metres (169 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
10/28 3,065 metres (10,056 ft) Asphalt
01/19 3,054 metres (10,020 ft) Asphalt
04/22 2,042 metres (6,699 ft) Asphalt
09/27 1,494 metres (4,902 ft) Asphalt
18/36 1,310 metres (4,298 ft) Asphalt
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, NATO Air Policing, and other tasks.

Parts of Keflavík Airport remain in military use for NATO. In 2017, the United States announced its intention to modify the largest hangar on the Icelandic base in order to house the new Boeing P-8 Poseidon ASW aircraft being introduced for short duration/expeditionary detachments.