Air Force Base Makhado

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Use South African English|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox airport | name = AFB Makhado | nativename = | nativename-a = | nativename-r = | image = | image-width = | caption = | IATA = | ICAO = FALM | type = Military | owner = | operator = South African Air Force | city-served = | location = Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, South Africa | elevation-f = 3,069 | elevation-m = 935 | coordinates = {{coord|23|09|36|S|029|41|48|E|region:ZA-LP|display=inline,title}} | image_map = | image_mapsize = | image_map_alt = | image_map_caption = | pushpin_map = South Africa Limpopo | pushpin_label = FALM | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_image = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Limpopo | website = [https://archive.today/20121224164535/http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_makhado/default.htm www.af.mil.za] | metric-rwy = Yes | r1-number = 10/28 | r1-length-f = 13,189 | r1-length-m = 4,020 | r1-surface = Asphalt | r2-number = 10L/28R | r2-length-f = 1,640 | r2-length-m = 500 | r2-surface = Asphalt | footnotes = }}

thumb '''Air Force Base Makhado''' {{Airport codes||FALM}}, formerly '''Air Force Base Louis Trichardt''', is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is the SAAF's northernmost base, situated at Louis Trichardt near the border with Zimbabwe, as well as being its most modern, and is known unofficially as ''Fighter Town, RSA.''

The base motto is ''Castrum Borealis'' (Fortress of the North).

==Units hosted== * 2 Squadron – Fighter squadron * 85 Combat Flying School * 102 Squadron – Light transport (reserve) * 515 Squadron – Security services * 3 Air Servicing Unit – Maintenance support

==History== The base was officially opened on 14 October 1987 as '''AFB Louis Trichardt''', but changed its name to match that of the nearby town on 7 November 2003. The town has since reverted to its old name, but the base name remains unchanged. The base uses cheetahs to control wildlife.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Koren |first1=Marina |title=Why South Africa's Air Force Lets Cheetahs Roam Its Bases |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/12/south-africa-air-force-cheetahs/420045/ |website=The Atlantic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108105406/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/12/south-africa-air-force-cheetahs/420045/ |archive-date=8 November 2020 |date=11 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also== * List of longest runways

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_makhado/default.htm Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728024950/http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_makhado/default.htm |date=28 July 2018 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makhado}} Category:Airports in South Africa Category:South African Air Force bases Category:Transport in Limpopo Category:Vhembe District Municipality Category:Military airbases established in 1987