Minakh

Minakh AB is home to the 4th Flying Training Squadron, equipped with MBB-223 and Mi-8 helicopters.

On 27 May 2005 Syria test-fired three Scud missiles, the first such Syrian missile tests since 2001. The missiles included one Scud B, with a range of about 300 kilometers, and a pair of Scud D's, with a range of about 700 kilometers. The missiles were launched from Minakh, north of Aleppo in northern Syria. One flew about 400 kilometers to southernmost Syria, near the border with Jordan. One of the missiles disintegrated over Turkish territory, showering missile parts over two villages in the Turkish province of Hatay. This missile had been fired southwest toward the Mediterranean.

There was no prior indication that Scud missiles were based at this facility. Instead, it appears that the missile launchers would have been driven to this air base from their garrison at Al Safir south of Allepo.

Minakh Air Base

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Overview of the Minakh Air Base, 27 October 1986

Close up of the Minakh Air Base, 27 October 1986