San Vito dei Normanni Air Station

San Vito dei Normanni Air Station was a United States Air Force facility located 7mi /10km NNW of Brindisi, Apulia, between the port of Brindisi and the town of San Vito dei Normanni, Italy.

Staffed by the 7275th Air Base Group, San Vito AB began as an off-base installation of Aviano Air Base with support personnel and equipment furnished by the 6900th Security Wing in 1960. It became a primary installation on 1 March 1961. operated since its activation by the United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS).

In 1964, a HF monitoring/receiving system of a large circular antenna array for COMINT purposes was installed. This AN/FLR-9 receiving system was operational until October 1994.

On 1 October 1979, the base reverted to HQ Sixteenth AF (USAFE), hosting the 6917th Electronic Security Group and other assigned U.S. and Allied units and organizations.3

In 1994, the base's mission was withdrawn. It reopened later that decade during the Balkan crisis. In 2000, the facility was once again closed. The landmark FLR-9 antenna array was disassembled. In 2003, the base reverted to Italian government ownership. As of mid-2007, the Italian government has not decided what to do with the disused facility.

ee also

* San Vito dei Normanni
* United States Air Forces in Europe
* List of US military bases in ItalyIt was the 6917th Electronic Security Group that was in San Vito. The Navy also Played a huge part in the interception and decoding of intelligence not to mention High Frequency Directional Finding

External links

* [http://sanvitoamato.com Free site for former personnel and family at SVAS.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.645638,17.841368&spn=0.052674,0.080887&t=k Satellite view of former FLR-9 site at San Vito dei Normanni AS, Italy]
* [http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/an-flr-9.htm AN/FLR-9 information with story of site construction at San Vito Dei Normanni Air Station on FAS.org]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/san-vito.htm Detailed Station history on globalsecurity.org]