NATO opens first western Balkan airbase as Albania showcases Bayraktar UCAV

Albania used the occasion of the opening of the Kuçovë Air Base to showcase its newly acquired Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs. (Albanian MoD)

The Kuçovë Air Base (Baza Ajrore Kuçovë) in Albania was officially inaugurated as NATO’s first tactical airbase in the western Balkans, with an opening ceremony on 4 March.

The work for transforming the Warsaw Pact-era MiG base into a modern facility to support NATO air transport, logistical support, and air policing missions across southeast Europe was first announced by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in August 2018.

Reconstruction of the base’s security parameter, runway, aprons, and connecting roads, as well as building new ammunition storage and continuous power supply infrastructure began in January 2022, with most of the planned work being completed by the end of 2023.

The total cost of modernisation saw approximately EUR50 million (USD54 million) funded by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), with an additional EUR5 million being invested by the Albanian government.