Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base(IATA: XIJ, ICAO: OKAJ) is a Kuwait Air Force base that is home to 3 Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 C/D squadrons: 9 Squadron, 25 Squadron, and 61 Squadron. The base also has an area designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies.
After the invasion, the US, which was preparing for Operation Desert Storm, feared that al-Jaber housed Iraqi chemical weapons mainly because the Iraqi army had deployed 30 howitzers and used the Kuwaiti hardened concrete hangars at al-Jaber for munitions storage. These howitzers, known as GHN-45, were notable for being preferred for chemical munition delivery by the Iraqis.[2]
According to USA Today, on 22 October 2003, the US Ambassador to Kuwait, Richard Jones, announced that the United States was reducing its presence at Al-Jaber to fully reduce its forces at that location. USAF assets remaining in Kuwait are primarily stationed at Ali Al Salem Air Base.
The U.S. side of the base was re-opened around July 2010 in support of Operation New Dawn.
The U.S. side of the base was re-opened in 2014 sometime before October.[citation needed]
