- State affiliation · United States
- Vigil category device · not official insignia
Identity provenance
State affiliation: United States.
Vigil category device — drawn from this record’s own domain, echelon and role. Not an official insignia.
In brief
The air expeditionary wing at Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates — the base from which American fighters, early-warning and reconnaissance aircraft operate over the Gulf, and the organisational form of the Emirati basing relationship in the most heavily attacked state in the region.
- Scope
- Structure, role, lineage and links. No subordinate records published.
- Subordination
- Subordination confirmed
- Sources
- 2 on the record
- Record state
- Partial
- Broad area of activity
- Al Dhafra air base, United Arab Emirates
- Notable history
- Al Dhafra is the American air force's fighter and surveillance base in the Gulf, shared with the Emirati air force, and the 380th is the wing that operates it. It has hosted every generation of American fighter deployed to the region and the early-warning and reconnaissance aircraft that watch the Gulf, and it sits in the state that received roughly half of all Iranian launches at the Gulf between February and May 2026. That makes it the wing whose host relationship has been tested hardest. What it flies and in what numbers is not recorded here.
- Strengths
- Co-location with the Gulf's most capable Arab air force, and a position on the lower Gulf from which the strait is close.
- Limitations
- The same proximity, on the territory of the most heavily attacked state. No aircraft, numbers, sortie rates or posture are recorded, and the wing's presence implies no commitment to the Emirates beyond the agreements themselves.
Related locations
Al Dhafra air base area: The wing operates the base; the marker is the area, described in structural terms only.
Quick actions
System access
Where this record connects into the rest of Vigil. Each row is here because this organisation actually reaches it.
Assessed as of — 2026-09 Last reviewed — 2026-09-09
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