Rygge Air Station is located in the municipalities of Rygge

Rygge

Rygge is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rygge. Rygge was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 .The emblem of Rygge is the Pasque flower...

 and Råde

Råde

Råde is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karlshus. The parish of Raade was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....

 in Østfold

Østfold

is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. The Royal Norwegian Air Force

Royal Norwegian Air Force

The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...

 operates various squadron and aircraft at the airbase, including Sea King

Sea King helicopter

Sea King helicopter may refer to:* SH-3 Sea King* CH-124 Sea King* Westland Sea King...

 helicopters, F-5 Freedom Fighter

F-5 Freedom Fighter

The Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and the F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely-used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop...

s, Dassault Falcon 20

Dassault Falcon 20

The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...

 aircraft as well as Bell 412

Bell 412

The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...

 helicopters. The base expanded October 1, 2007, to include the civilian Moss Airport, Rygge

Moss Airport, Rygge

Moss Airport, Rygge is an international airport serving Moss, Oslo and Eastern Norway, located in Rygge. It is both a regional airport for Østfold as well as an airport for low-cost airlines. The airport is located outside Moss and outside Oslo and is owned and operated by the private company...

.

Operations

The 720 Squadron six Bell 412SP aircraft used primarily to support the Royal Norwegian Army. The 717 Squadron operates three Dassault Falcon 20

Dassault Falcon 20

The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...

 jets. Two of the jets are configured for electronic warfare

Electronic warfare

Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...

 while the third is configured for VIP-transport. A dispatchment of the 330 Squadron operate Westland Sea King

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...

 helicopters for search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

. From the new commercial operations area, Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA , trading as Norwegian, is the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. In 2010, it transported 13.0 million people. As of October 2011, Norwegian operates a total fleet of 62 aircraft; 17 Boeing 737-300s and 45 Boeing 737-800s...

 has chosen to start a number of services from the airport later this year.

History

The 720 Squadron was moved from Gardermoen Air Station

Gardermoen Air Station

Gardermoen Air Station is located about 50 km north of Oslo, Norway. It is the location for the 135th Airwing and the 335th Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which currently operates two of the four recently procured C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft...

 to Rygge. In 1989 their UH-1B

UH-1 Iroquois

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...

 helicopters were replaced with Bell 412s. In 2002, the 332 Squadron with F-16s was moved from Rygge to Bodø Main Air Station

Bodø Main Air Station

Bodø Main Air Station Bodø Main Air Station Bodø Main Air Station (Norwegian: Bodø hovedflystasjon is situated just outside Bodø, Norway and is the largest air station in Norway, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The air station is home to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons of...

. Some of the aircraft were relocated to Ørland Main Air Station

Ørland Main Air Station

Ørland Main Air Station is situated at the mouth of the Trondheimsfjord in the municipality of Ørland, in the center of Norway. Ørland is operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force and is an important air base not only for Norway, but also for NATO...

.

External links

• Royal Norwegian Air Force' page on Rygge (in Norwegian)