This is a list of countries with overseas military bases.
The establishment of military bases abroad enables a country to project power, e.g. to conduct expeditionary warfare, and thereby to influence events abroad. Depending on their size and infrastructure, they can be used as staging areas or for logistical, communications and intelligence support. Many conflicts throughout modern history have resulted in overseas military bases being established in large numbers by world powers; and these bases have helped the countries that have established them to achieve political and military goals.
The United Kingdom and other colonial powers established overseas military bases in many of their colonies during the First and Second World Wars, where useful, and actively sought rights to facilities where needed for strategic reasons. At one time, the establishment of coaling stations for naval ships was important. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union established military bases where they could within their respective spheres of influence, and actively sought influence where needed. More recently, the War on Terror has resulted in overseas military bases being established in the Middle East.
While the overall number of overseas military bases has fallen since 1945, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Russia and France still possess or utilize a substantial number of them. Smaller numbers of overseas military bases are operated by China, Iran, India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States is the largest operator of military bases abroad, with 38 "named bases" [note 1] with active duty, national guard, reserve, or civilian personnel as of September 30, 2014. Its largest, in terms of personnel, was Ramstein AB in Germany, with almost 9,200 personnel. [2] [note 2]
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Malaysia | Butterworth Air Base | Use by Australia's Commitment to the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). [3] In addition, the Australian Army maintains an infantry designated company (Rifle Company Butterworth) at Butterworth, Malaysia for training purposes. |
United Arab Emirates | Al Minhad Air Base | Used by Australian operations in the Middle East. |
Country | Details |
---|---|
Kuwait | a Bangladesh Military Contingent (BMC) has resided in Kuwait since the end of the 1991 Gulf War to assist the Kuwait Military Forces in logistics and other sectors under a bilateral agreement. [4] [5] [6] [7] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Cuba | Bejucal | Listening station [8] [9] [10] |
Djibouti | Djibouti | People's Liberation Army Support Base [11] |
Tajikistan | Gorno-Badakhshan | Military post [12] [13] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Germany | French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in Germany (FFECSA) | |
Djibouti | Djibouti | French forces in Djibouti [14] [15] |
Ivory Coast | French forces in Ivory Coast (FFCI) [14] [15] | |
Gabon | French elements in Gabon (EFG) [14] [15] | |
Senegal | French elements in Sénégal (EFS) [14] [15] | |
Chad | N'Djamena | Air Force Base |
Iraq | Baghdad | Opération Chammal |
Jordan | Prince Hassan Air Base | as part of Opération Chammal |
United Arab Emirates | Presence forces in the United Arab Emirates [14] [15] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
France | Illkirch-Graffenstaden | Light Infantry Battalion 291, part of the Franco-German Brigade |
Lithuania | Rūdninkai | Construction underway, from 2025 onwards hosting Armoured Brigade 45 |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Cyprus | Nicosia | Hellenic Force in Cyprus. [16] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Tajikistan | Farkhor Air Base and Ayni Air Base [17] [18] [19] | |
Bhutan | Haa and Thimphu | The Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) is permanently stationed in western Bhutan and the Indian Army also maintains a detachment in the capital city of Thimphu. [20] |
Madagascar | A listening post and a radar facility in northern Madagascar [21] [22] | |
Oman | Ras al Hadd and Muscat | A listening post and berthing rights for the Indian Navy . [23] |
Mauritius | Agaléga | India has been funding the construction of 3000 m long airfield with associated facilities to house troops. [24] |
Seychelles | Mahe, Alphonse, Farquhar, Astove and Assumption Island | Indian government supported construction of system with six coastal surveillance radars which are linked to the Indian surveillance system. [25] [26] [27] [28] |
Country | Location | Details | |
---|---|---|---|
Syria | Al-Kiswah and Abu Kamal | A military base [29] and several facilities [30] | |
Iraq | Anbar and Salah al-Din | Military facilities and training base of supported militias | |
Lebanon | Beqaa and Beirut Governorate | A military training facility and several military installations [31] | |
Tajikistan | Military facilities and drone factories [32] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Syria | Machne Yarden, Camp Filon and Camp Yitzhak [33] | Israeli-occupied territories |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Djibouti | Djibouti | National Military Support Base. [34] |
Niger | Niamey | National Military Support Base. [35] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Djibouti | Ambouli | Japan Self-Defense Force Base Djibouti [36] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Saudi Arabia | Tabuk | 1,180 personnel and other bases in permanent training and advisory roles, under a 1982 agreement. [37] [38] [39] [40] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Armenia | Gyumri | 102nd Military Base and 3624th Airbase |
Belarus | Baranavichy and Vileyka | Hantsavichy Radar Station, Vileyka naval communication centre |
Burkina Faso | [41] | |
Central African Republic | [42] [43] | |
Georgia | 4th Military Base and 7th Military Base in the occupied regions of disputed South Ossetia and Abkhazia | |
Kazakhstan | Sary Shagan range, Baikonur Cosmodrome | |
Kyrgyzstan | Kant Air Base | 338th naval communication centre, 954th torpedo testing range and a seismograph |
Libya | Tobruk and Benghazi | Russian troops deployed during the Libyan civil war[ citation needed ] |
Mali | [44] | |
Moldova | Cobasna | A sizeable military force in the unrecognised state of Transnistria. These forces guard Cobasna ammunition depot. [45] |
Niger | ||
Syria | Tartus and Khmeimim Air Base and Shayrat Air Base | [46] |
Tajikistan | Dushanbe | 201st Military Base |
Ukraine | Sevastopol Naval Base [47] | Russian-occupied territories [48] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Bahrain | Saudi Arabian military presence in Bahrain since the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain in 2011 as part of the Peninsula Shield Force - the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The units sent from Saudi Arabia included 1,000 (1,200) [49] troops along with 150 vehicles. Saudi Arabian soldiers were apparently from the Saudi Arabian National Guard, commanded by a son of King Abdullah, Prince Miteb. [50] | |
Djibouti | Military base. [51] [52] [53] | |
Yemen | Al Mahrah, Hadhramaut, Ma'rib, Abyan, Al Hudaydah and Taiz | Several military bases and facilities.[ citation needed ] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Brunei | Jalan Aman Camp | |
Taiwan | Hengchun, Douliu, Hukou, [54] Taichung International Airport | |
Thailand [55] | Sai Yok Camp |
Country | Location | Details | |
---|---|---|---|
Albania | Pasha Liman Base | 24 troops and 2 frigates. [56] An Albanian-Turkish military cooperation agreement was signed in 1992 that encompassed rebuilding Albania's Pasha Liman Base by Turkey alongside granted access for Turkish use. [57] | |
Azerbaijan | Hacı Zeynalabdin,Gizil Sherg, Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre | Buildings and structures in Gizil Sherg military town, and one terminal building located in the airfield in Hacı Zeynalabdin settlement. [58] An observation base was also built by Turkey in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after the 44-day 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The base was established under the name "Ceasefire Observation Center", and officially started to operate in January 2021 with 60 Turkish and Russian soldiers stationed at the base. [59] | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Fatih Sultan Mehmet Barracks | Under EUROFOR Operation Althea 242 troops, previously under Implementation Force and Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina stationed at Mehmet The Conqueror Barracks. [60] [61] | |
Iraq | Disputed territories of northern Iraq: Bashiqa and Bamarni Air Base | Turkey has signed agreement with Iraq which includes allowing the Turkish army to pursue elements of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, with the permission of, and in coordination with the Federal Government of Iraq. It also includes opening two liaison offices between Baghdad and Ankara to exchange intelligence and security information between the two countries. [62] [63] As of 2020, Turkey has a military base with 2,000 personnel garrisoned with around 60 tanks, Armoured personnel carriers and one commando battalion. [64] [65] Turkey has more than 40+ military and intelligence bases scattered all around Iraq, the most out of any country. [66] There are plans to build a new base in the Metina area of Duhok governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan Region as of April 2021. [67] [68] In total, Turkey has stationed around 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers in Iraq. [69] [70] | |
Kosovo | Prizren: Sultan Murat Kışlası, Mamusha | An estimated 321 troops serve in the Kosovo Security Battalion command for UNMIK mission and KFOR peacekeeping force's. [61] [71] [72] [73] | |
Libya | Tripolitania: al-Watiya, Mitiga,Misrata and Zwara [74] | The number of Turkish soldiers stationed in Libya is unknown. [70] | |
Cyprus | Northern Cyprus | A total of 35,000 to 40,000 armed forces of Turkey are currently in active duty Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command in the de facto state Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. [70] | |
Qatar | Doha: Katar TSK Kara Unsur Komutanlığı | 5,000 personnel. [75] [76] [77] [78] | |
Somalia | Mogadishu: Camp TURKSOM | 2,000 personnels. [70] | |
Syria | Turkish occupation of northern Syria: Al-Bab, Al-Rai, Akhtarin, Afrin, Jindires, Rajo and Jarablus | 5,000 personnel in Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch regions. New bases were followed at south of Afrin canton in Atme and Darat Izza [79] There are 114 Turkish bases in Syria as of January 2022. [80] After operation Peace Spring, approximately 6,400 personnel are working around the Peace Spring region between Ras al-Ayn and Tell Abyad. 19 observation points are settled around Idlib and Aleppo Province. [81] Altogether, there are an estimated 10,500 Turkish soldiers and 250 tanks stationed in Turkish occupation of northern Syria. These numbers are constantly subject to modifications. [70] |
Country | Location | Details |
---|---|---|
Libya | Al-Khadim Airport near Marj. | A forward operating base [82] [83] |
Yemen | Socotra and Perim | Partial military base and air base at. [84] [85] |
The United States has military bases in 45 countries and territories, i.e. outside its fifty states and the District of Columbia. [97] Countries with U.S. bases include:
A The Base Structure Report defines a main site as a "Non-US Site having at least 10 acres OR $10M Plant Replacement Value". [109] Only sites with more than zero buildings are counted here. |
B The Base Structure Report defines a "Non-US Site having less than 10 acres OR $10M Plant Replacement Value". [109] Unlike main sites they are not named in the report. |
The Djibouti Armed Forces are the military forces of Djibouti. They consist of the Djiboutian National Army and its sub-branches the Djiboutian Air Force and Djiboutian Navy. As of 2018, the Djibouti Armed Forces consists of 20,470 ground troops, which are divided into several regiments and battalions garrisoned in various areas throughout the country. The Djibouti Armed Forces are an important player in the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea.
The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF), also known as the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, is part of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Royal Saudi Army, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, and the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force. The King of Saudi Arabia is the Supreme commander-in-chief of all the Military Forces and forms military policy with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. The five Armed Forces are among eight military forces of Saudi Arabia, with the others including the Royal Saudi National Guard, the Royal Saudi Guard Regiment and the Royal Saudi Border Guards.
The Yemeni Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Yemen. They include the Yemeni Army, Yemeni Navy and the Yemeni Air Force. The capital of the country, Sana’a is where the military is headquartered. Per the constitution of Yemen, the President of Yemen serves as the commander-in-chief.
State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist organizations, providing training, supplying weapons, providing other logistical and intelligence assistance, and hosting groups within their borders. Because of the pejorative nature of the word, the identification of particular examples are often subject to political dispute and different definitions of terrorism.
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), and/or bombs in hardpoints for drone strikes. These drones are usually under real-time human control, with varying levels of autonomy. UCAVs are used for reconnaissance, attacking targets and returning to base; unlike kamikaze drones which are only made to explode on impact, or surveillance drones which are only for gathering intelligence.
The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, formerly the Second Artillery Corps, is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and controls China's arsenal of land-based ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missiles—both nuclear and conventional. The armed service branch was established on 1 July 1966 and made its first public appearance on 1 October 1984. The headquarters for operations is located at Qinghe, Beijing. The PLARF is under the direct command of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission (CMC).
The Port of Djibouti is a port in Djibouti, the capital of Djibouti. It is strategically located at the crossroads of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, linking Europe, the Far East, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. The port serves as a key refueling and transshipment and also transport means center, and is the principal maritime outlet for imports to and exports from neighboring Ethiopia. An estimated 2,500 ships pass through and call through the port every day.
TOS-1 Buratino is a Soviet 220 mm 30-barrel or 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher capable of using thermobaric warheads, mounted on a T-72 / T-90 tank chassis. TOS-1 was designed to attack enemy fortified positions and lightly armored vehicles and transports, particularly in open terrain. The system’s first combat tests took place in 1988 and 1989 in the Panjshir Valley during the Soviet–Afghan War. The TOS-1 was shown for the first time in public in 1999 in Omsk.
Prostitution in Djibouti is illegal but tolerated. UNAIDS estimate there are 2,900 prostitutes in the country. Many work from bars and nightclubs. There is a red-light district in Djibouti City.
Pakistan Armed Forces deployments include all Pakistani military deployments that are stationed outside Pakistan and serving in other countries. The sixth largest military power in terms of active troops, Pakistan has an extensive history of overseas military presence, especially in the Middle East, where it has maintained military contingents, missions and battalions in several states. As part of its foreign policy efforts to expand its military relations and influence in the region, Pakistan signed defence protocols during the 1970s with several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, under which members of the armed forces of these countries were imparted professional training by Pakistani advisers and military trainers. Saudi Arabia signed a bilateral agreement with Pakistan on defense cooperation; during that time, there were 50,000 to 60,000 Pakistani military personnel serving abroad with the largest number of these, about 20,000, deployed in Saudi Arabia.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.
The siege of Taiz is an ongoing, protracted military confrontation between opposing Yemeni forces in the city of Taiz for control of the city and surrounding area. The battle began one month after the start of the Yemeni Civil War.
The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) is an intergovernmental counter-terrorist military alliance between 42 member states in the Muslim world, united around the war against the Islamic State and other counter-terrorist activities. Its creation was first announced by Saudi Arabian defence minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, on 15 December 2015. The alliance was to have a joint operations center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare and maintain a forward presence. Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance, often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces, as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. Most of the bases are located on British Overseas Territories or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the British government.
The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a high-profile incident involving the deterioration of ties between Qatar and the Arab League between 2017 and 2021. It began when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt simultaneously severed their bilateral relations with Qatar and subsequently banned Qatar-registered aircraft and Qatari ships from utilizing their sovereign territory by air, land, and sea; this involved the Saudis' closure of Qatar's only land crossing, initiating a de facto blockade of the country. Tensions between the two sides came to a close in January 2021, following a resolution between the Saudis and the Qataris.
The People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti is a military base operated by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), located in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. It is the PLAN's first overseas military base and was built at a cost of US$590 million. The facility is expected to significantly increase China's power projection in the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean, as well as the PLAN's blue water capabilities.
Camp TURKSOM is a Turkish military base and a defence university in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte, is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.
Our troops are already present in Tabuk and some other cities of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan already has 2000 troops in Saudi Arabia under a 1982 bilateral agreement. The deployed troops are mostly serving there in training and advisory capacity.
However, security experts say that being an ally of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is part of a security cooperation agreement under which about 1,000 Pakistani troops are performing an "advisory" role to Riyadh and are stationed in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
Aziz said military cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was nearly four decades' old, and around 1,000 Pakistani military officials were always present in the kingdom.
albania.
Some of these nations even have their own forward operating bases in Libya, including a secretive remote airfield operated by the United Arab Emirates about 50 miles [80 km] southeast of Benghazi. Here, the UAE has deployed a pocket air force of heavily armed and armored agricultural planes developed into surveillance and light attack platforms–the AT-802U Border Patrol variant of the Air Tractor and the more capable IOMAX Archangel–in addition to S-70 Blackhawks, and Chinese Wing Loong unmanned aircraft
IHS Jane's says that the UAE is operating propeller-driven AT-802U light aircraft, helicopters and surveillance drones from the Al-Khadim airport to the southeast of Marj and Jardas Al-Abid.