Avord Air Base or BA 702 , named after Captain Georges Madon

Georges Madon

Georges Felix Madon was the fourth ranked French ace pilot of the First World War. His lengthy career and wide variety of aviation experiences were remarkable.-Early years:...

, is a base of the French Air Force

French Air Force

The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...

 located 2.8 km (1.7 mi) north northwest of Avord

Avord

Avord is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Yèvre, some east of Bourges at the junction of the D976 with the D36 and the D71 roads...

 in central France.

Airbase 702 hosts about 2,500 personnel (French Air Force military and some civilian). Because of its strategic location in the middle of France it is extremely suitable as a multi purpose base. It has a single runway 06/24, 3503 metre.

Units on the base

• The French Boeing E-3F
  E-3 Sentry
  The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
  
   AWACS unit is located here in the 00.036 Airborne Warning Control Sqn 'Berry' Escadron de détection et contrôle aéroportés (EDCA). Its role is to carry out airborne surveillance, and command, control and communications (C3) functions for both tactical and air defense forces. The French designation is E-3 SDA (Systeme de Detection Aeroporté). Additional units attached: mission support flight, training flight, technical flight support and logistic flight.

The base perimeter contains some maximum-security zones with:

• A Special Ammuniations Storage (SAS) or dépôt atelier munitions spécialisées (DAMS). Storage of appx. 60 of FAF's stockpile of Air-Sol Moyenne Portée
  Air-Sol Moyenne Portée
  The Air-Sol Moyenne Portée is a French air-launched nuclear missile. Part of the Force de frappe, in French nuclear doctrine it is the last-resort "warning shot" prior to a full-scale employment of strategic nuclear weapons...
  
   ASMP nuclear midrange air ground missiles.
• 2 hardened alert facilities. One is hosting 4 Mirage 2000 N planes, normally home based at Istres Air Base
  Istres Air Base
  Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is a large multi-role tasked French Air Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France. The airport facilities are also known as Istres - Le Tubé .- Armée de l'air :...
  
   BA125 or at Luxeuil Air Base
  Luxeuil Air Base
  Luxeuil is a medium size air base located at , near Luxeuil-les-Bains in the Franche-Comté region of France. It has two runways: 113/293 with a length of 2433m, and 038/218 with a length of 2315m....
  
   BA116. These planes are detached here on a rotating cyclus to comply to the French nuclear deterrence mission. The other facility hosts E-3F airplanes and KC135 tankers, normally home based at Istres, but detached to Avord AB to be used with some AWACS and strike missions.

Other support units:

• 00.319 transport flight school.
• technical maintenance depot.
• entrepôt de munition de l'armée de l'air Savigny-en-Septaine, a conventional ammo storage unit.
• 1H.702 firefighting/rescue and nuclear decontamination unit.
• 12.802 strategic telecom unit.
• 02.950 air defense sqn (escadron de défense sol-air) Sancerre equipped with the Crotale and MBDA
  MBDA
  MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
  
   Mistral
  Mistral missile
  Mistral is an infrared homing surface-to-air missile manufactured by the European multinational company MBDA missile systems . Based on the French SATCP , the portable missile later to become the Mistral began development in 1974...
  
   short range air defense systems.
• 1G.702 security squadron (escadron de protection)fusiliers commandos de l'air
  Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air
  The Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air of France's Armée de l'Air are equivalent to the United Kingdom's RAF Regiment, Germany's Objektschutzregiment der Luftwaffe or the United States Air Force's United States Air Force Security Forces...
  
  responsible for security and base protection.

External links

• Official site Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon (French)
• 00.036 Berry (French)
• Le CASSIC- the EWF (French)