CFB Cold Lake
3201283
215549711
2008-05-28T18:18:49Z
CmdrObot
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{{Infobox Airport
| name = CFB Cold Lake
|nativename =Cold Lake/Group Captain R.W. McNair Airport
| IATA = YOD
| ICAO = CYOD
| type = [[Canadian Forces|Military]]
| owner = [[Government of Canada]]
| operator = [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|DND]]
| city-served =
| location = [[Cold Lake, Alberta|Cold Lake]], [[Alberta]]
| elevation-f = 1,775
| elevation-m = 541
| coordinates = {{coord|54|24|18|N|110|16|46|W|type:airport|display=inline}}
| website =
| r1-number = 04/22
| r1-length-f = 8,270
| r1-length-m = 2,521
| r1-surface = [[Asphalt]]
| r2-number = 13L/31R
| r2-length-f = 12,600
| r2-length-m = 3,840
| r2-surface = Asphalt
| r3-number = 13R/31L
| r3-length-f = 10,000
| r3-length-m = 3,048
| r3-surface = Asphalt
| footnotes = Source: [[Canada Flight Supplement]]<ref name="CFS">{{CFS}}</ref>
}}
'''Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake''' {{Airport codes|YOD|CYOD}}, commonly referred to as '''CFB Cold Lake''', is a [[Canadian Forces Base]] located 5.5 [[nautical mile]]s (10.19 [[Kilometre|km]]) southwest of [[Cold Lake, Alberta|Cold Lake]], [[Alberta]]. It is operated as an air force base by [[Canadian Forces Air Command]] (the largest in Canada) and is one of two bases in the country using the ''[[CF-18 Hornet]]'' fighter/interceptor. Its primary lodger unit is 4 Wing.
CFB Cold Lake's airfield is closed to civilian aircraft, unless on official business with the base.
The facility is named '''Cold Lake/Group Captain R.W. McNair Airport'''. It is one of only three military [[aerodrome]]s in Canada to be named after an individual; [[List of heliports in Canada#270|Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport]] and [[CFB Moose Jaw|Moose Jaw/Air Vice Marshal C.M. McEwen Airport]] being the others.
The airport is classified as an [[airport of entry]] by [[NAV CANADA]] and is staffed by the [[Canada Border Services Agency]]. The use of the airport by international flights is currently restricted to military aircraft and personnel only.<ref name="CFS"/>
==History==
Construction of what would become known as RCAF Station Cold Lake began in 1952 at the height of the [[Cold War]] after the site in Alberta's "Lakeland District" was chosen by the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] for the country's premier air weapons training base. The chosen location was near the town of [[Grand Centre, Alberta|Grand Centre]], and was based on factors such as low population density, accessibility, weather, suitable terrain, and available land for air weapons training.
Personnel arrived at Cold Lake on [[March 31]], [[1954]] with operations at RCAF Station Cold Lake beginning that day. The following year, the federal government signed an agreement with the provinces of [[Saskatchewan]] and Alberta for use of a tract of land measuring 180 [[kilometre|km]] by 65 km covering an area of 11,700 square kilometres. This became known as the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR) and is the ''raison d'ĂȘtre'' for the location of the base.
CLAWR is the northern equivalent to the [[United States Air Force]]'s [[Nellis Air Force Range]] and provides a different training environment with heavy boreal forest and numerous lakes more closely resembling European terrain. It hosts over 640 actual targets and 100 realistic target complexes, including 7 simulated aerodromes with runways, tarmac, aircraft, dispersal areas and buildings, as well as mechanized military equipment such as tanks, simulated radar and missile launching sites, mock industrial sites, and command and control centres.
On [[February 1]], [[1968]] the RCAF merged with the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] and [[Canadian Army]] to form the unified [[Canadian Forces]]. RCAF Station Cold Lake saw its name changed to CFB Cold Lake and in 1975 became the responsibility of [[Canadian Forces Air Command]].
[[Image:CF18 stcatharines 1.jpg|thumb|right|CF-18 found at the base]]During the 1980s, CFB Cold Lake was thrust into the international media spotlight when CLAWR was used as the target for testing of the newly-developed [[AGM-86]] [[air launched cruise missile]]s by the USAF. These missiles were launched from strategic bombers over the [[Beaufort Sea]] and travelled down the [[Mackenzie River]] valley, closely following the terrain at elevations of several metres above ground level. The tests caused significant controversy among peace activists and local [[First Nations]] on the projected flight paths since the new untested weapons were considered a destabilizing force in the international arms race, potentially contributing to instability worldwide. The [[Federal Court of Canada]] ruled in favour of allowing the tests to proceed in 1983 and the Canada–United States Test and Evaluation Program or CANUSTEP agreement was subsequently signed between both nations, allowing for the cruise missile tests to use Canadian airspace in the [[Northwest Territories]] and [[Alberta]] en route to CLAWR.
In 2008 it was the setting for ''[[Jetstream (TV)|Jetstream]]'', a TV series depicting eight pilots training under the 410 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron to fly a [[CF-18]].
==Current usage==
Today, CFB Cold Lake is Canada's largest and most remote air force base, with the following units stationed at the facility:
* [[No. 409 Squadron RCAF|409 Tactical Fighter Squadron]] (''[[CF-18 Hornet]]'')
* [[No. 417 Squadron RCAF|417 Combat Support Squadron]] (''[[CH-146 Griffon]]'')
* [[No. 419 Squadron RCAF|419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron]] (''[[CT-155 Hawk]]'')
* [[No. 410 Squadron RCAF|410 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron]] (''CF-18 Hornet'')
* 1 Air Maintenance Squadron
* Weapon System Manager Detachment Cold Lake
* 42 Radar Squadron
* 10 Field Technical Training Squadron
* 4 Airfield Defence Squadron
* Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment
In addition to its value as a training base, CFB Cold Lake's fighter/interceptor aircraft defend the western half of Canadian air space and together with aircraft from [[CFB Bagotville]] cover Canada's Arctic territory. They are operationally controlled by [[NORAD]] from [[CFB North Bay]] and [[Cheyenne Mountain|Cheyenne Mountain Operations Centre]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]]. Cold Lake aircraft forward deploy to airfields throughout western and Arctic Canada as operational requirements dictate.
Cold Lake also hosts [[NATO]] flight training operating from nearby [[CFB Moose Jaw|15 Wing Moose Jaw]], as well as [[CFB Goose Bay|5 Wing Goose Bay]]. [[MAPLE FLAG]] is a major international air weapons training competition hosted annually by CFB Cold Lake in May-June, making use of CLAWR. The name is derived from the USAF's famous [[Red Flag (USAF)|Red Flag]] training exercises at the Nellis Air Force Range in [[Nevada]].
CFB Cold Lake is the current home of the Cold Lake Air Cadet Summer Training Center(CLACSTC), held annually from June to August.
[[NASA]] and [[ESA]] astronauts use Cold Lake for winter survival training.<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_The_Real_Survivors.html The Real Survivors]</ref>
==See also==
*[[Cold Lake Regional Airport]]
==References==
<references/>
*[http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/4wing/training/mapleflag/about_e.asp Exercise MAPLE FLAG]
==External links==
* [http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/4wing/about_us/index_e.asp Official Webpage]
*[http://www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly/airport_view.php?pr_id=2&ap_id=304 Page about this airport and CF base] on [[Canadian Owners and Pilots Association|COPA's]] ''Places to Fly'' airport directory
{{Can-arpt-wx|CYOD|Cold Lake Airport}}
{{List of airports in Canada}}
{{Canadian Forces Air Command}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cold Lake}}
[[Category:Canadian Forces bases in Alberta]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force stations]]
[[Category:Airports in Alberta]]