Chabelley Airport

Chabelley Airport (ICAO: HDCH), also known as the Chabelley Airfield, is a military airstrip in Chabelley, located some 6 miles to the southwest of Djibouti City, the capital of Djibouti.^[1]

Chabelley Airport
IATA: none ICAO: HDCH
Summary
Airport type	Military
Location	Chabelley, Djibouti
Elevation AMSL	348 ft / 106 m
Coordinates	11°31′N 43°04′E
Map
HDCH Location of airport in Djibouti
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 10/28 8,530 2,600 Asphalt

Facilities

The airport has a single asphalt runway 10/28 that is 8,530 x 95 feet (2,600 x 29 m) long. It features displaced thresholds and runway turnarounds at either end in place of a parallel taxiway. Two small concrete aprons have been constructed to provide parking and maintenance facilities, some of the several additions made by the US military since 2013. Other additions include a perimeter fence, guard towers, and vehicle access gates.^[2][3]

Military

Although it is operated and used by the French military,^[4] it began serving as a temporary base for U.S. military unmanned aircraft in September 2013.^[5][6] The move came after the Djiboutian government expressed concern over a number of recent drone mishaps and accidents at the American Camp Lemonnier Naval Expeditionary Base, which serves as a hub for counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia. The Djiboutian authorities consequently asked U.S. officials to relocate the drones to the rarely used Chabelley Airfield.^[5] Previously, Chabelley airstrip had been exclusively reserved in case of need for the French military.^[6] The U.S. Air Force's 870th Air Expeditionary Squadron operates Predator and Reaper drones from the airfield.^[7][4]