Gando Air Base (Spanish: Base Aérea de Gando) is a military installation of the Spanish Air and Space Force located on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, adjacent to and east of the runways of Gran Canaria Airport.
Location and Facilities
The base is situated on the eastern side of Gran Canaria Airport. Beyond several hangars opposite the passenger terminal, Gando Air Base contains ten aircraft shelters located on the southern end of the eastern runway. It is one of the largest and most important air bases of the Spanish Air and Space Force, noted for the wide variety of aircraft it operates.
Units and Aircraft
Gando Air Base hosts the 46 Wing (Ala 46), which comprises:
- 462 Squadron (462 Esc) – operates F/A-18A+ Hornet fighter aircraft (approximately 18 units).
- 802 Squadron – a rescue and transport squadron operating CASA/IPTN CN235 aircraft and SAR Eurocopter H215M helicopters.
The 46 Wing is responsible for defending Spanish airspace around the Canary Islands. As of 2025, the wing has begun a transition from the F/A-18 Hornet to the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 4, with conversion expected to start in 2026.
Command Structure
The Canary Islands Air Command (Mando Aéreo de Canarias – MACAN), based in the city of Las Palmas, is the only territorial general Air Force Command in Spain. Any Spanish military aircraft that lands in the Canary Islands is placed at the disposal of MACAN, which can retain and use it as necessary for missions within the archipelago. The deployment base of Gando is the Lanzarote Military Airfield, which has permanent air defense radar coverage but no permanently based military aircraft.
History and Strategic Role
The first landing at the site occurred in January 1924 by a Breguet XIV aircraft. Military activity at the base was most intense during the mid-1970s, at the time of the decolonization crisis of Western Sahara and its occupation by Morocco. More recently, crises in West Africa—such as the 2013 French intervention in Mali—made Gando Air Base a key air platform for NATO operations in the region.
In 2006, Spain proposed Gando Air Base as the headquarters for the newly created United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), though AFRICOM's headquarters was ultimately established in Stuttgart, Germany.
Space Launch Operations
In 1997, Gando Air Base was used to launch the Minisat 01 satellite, carried by a Pegasus XL rocket released from a Stargazer L-1011 aircraft over the Atlantic south of Gran Canaria. The base has also been proposed as an alternative to the El Hierro Launch Centre.
