U.S. Begins Removing Jets From Spanish Base
MADRID — The U.S. Air Force has begun the phased withdrawal of its F-16 fighter-bombers from the joint U.S.-Spanish air base of Torrejon near Madrid, the American Embassy said Monday.
“The planes are going to be leaving at the rate of four every two weeks,” an embassy spokesman said. Officials at Torrejon did not say where the F-16s will be sent.
Each of the three squadrons at Torrejon has 24 F-16s. Fewer than 4,000 U.S. personnel are at the base.
Torrejon was a key support base for the transport of U.S. troops and equipment during the Gulf War.
Spain’s defense minister said last month that the F-16s would all leave Torrejon by May, 1992. Spain plans to keep the airport as a military base and to back up Madrid’s civilian airport at nearby Barajas.
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