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Umm Al Melh Border Guards Airport

Coordinates: 19°06′56″N 50°07′44″E / 19.115672°N 50.128890°E / 19.115672; 50.128890
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Umm Al Melh Border Guards Airport

مطار سلاح الحدود أم الملح
Summary
OperatorGeneral Directorate of Border Guards
LocationEastern Province, Saudi Arabia
Elevation AMSL778 ft / 237 m
Coordinates19°06′56″N 50°07′44″E / 19.115672°N 50.128890°E / 19.115672; 50.128890
Map
Umm Al Melh is located in Saudi Arabia
Umm Al Melh
Umm Al Melh
Location of airport in Saudi Arabia
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,000 9,843 concrete

Umm Al Melh Border Guards Airport (Arabic: مطار سلاح الحدود أم الملح) is a Saudi government air base located in southwestern Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

The air base was commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior in November 2010 as a base of operations for the Border Guards to patrol the country's southern border.[1][2] It is part of a proposed network of air bases that would serve as transport, logistical support and evacuation centers for the Border Guards.[2] The base is under construction in the vast Rub' al Khali desert about 43 kilometres (27 mi) from the Yemeni border by the Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Company. The first phase of the project was completed for SR 86.3 million.[1] The second phase was commissioned in August 2011 at a cost of SR 120.7 million.[3]

In February 2013, Wired magazine suggested the air base may be a secret U.S. drone base used to carry out drone strikes on targets in Yemen, including the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011.[4] Although Wired was unable to confirm the claim, both Foreign Policy and Haaretz reported that it was "almost certainly" the secret base.[5][6] The existence of a Central Intelligence Agency-run drone base in southern Saudi Arabia had been revealed by U.S newspapers two days earlier.[7][8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Closing Bell" (PDF). NCB Capital. November 29, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  2. ^ a b الشيباني, مناحي (November 11, 2010). الموافقة على إنشاء مطار أم الملح لحرس الحدود جنوب الربع الخالي [Approval for Airport at Umm al Melh to Guard the Southern Border of the Empty Quarter]. Al Riyadh (in Arabic). Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  3. ^ "Saudi Firm Wins $32.1m Border Guard Airport Deal". Saudi Gazette. August 7, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  4. ^ Shachtman, Noah (February 7, 2013). "Is This the Secret U.S. Drone Base in Saudi Arabia?". Wired. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  5. ^ Reed, John (February 8, 2013). "Is This Another Secret Drone Base on the Arabian Peninsula?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  6. ^ Pfeffer, Anshel (February 10, 2013). "Secret American Drone Airbase in Saudi Arabia Exposed". Haaretz. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Miller, Greg; DeYoung, Karen (February 5, 2013). "Brennan Nomination Exposes Criticism on Targeted Killings and Secret Saudi Base". Washington Post. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  8. ^ Worth, Robert F.; Mazzetti, Mark; Shane, Scott (February 5, 2013). "Drone Strikes' Risks to Get Rare Moment in the Public Eye". New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  9. ^ The first widely noted revelation of the base was on February 5, 2013. However, two different news sources had inadvertently reported the existence of a U.S. drone base in Saudi Arabia in 2012, in one instance violating an unofficial nondisclosure agreement between U.S. media outlets and the Central Intelligence Agency about the location of the base. See Chen, Adrian (February 6, 2013). "The 'Secret' Saudi Drone Base Revealed By The Times Today Was Actually Reported Months Ago". Gawker. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
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