Ørland Main Air Station is situated at the mouth of the Trondheimsfjorden in the municipality of Ørland in Trøndelag county in the center of Norway. Ørland is operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force and is an important air base not only for Norway, but also for NATO. The air station is the base of F-35A Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, Westland Sea King search and rescue helicopters and a location for E-3A Sentry AWACS. It is also the host of many NATO exercises.
A view from the east over Ørland Main Air Station during 2011
Two RNoAF F-16 Fighting Falcon at Ørland hovedflystasjon during NATO Tiger Meet 2013
B-1B bomber landing at Ørland in 2021
Stockpiles of United States Marine Corps weapons, vehicles, ammunition and other equipment have been located in Norway since 1981 as part of what is currently designated the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway (MCPP-N). This material is stored in a network of climate-controlled caves and buildings near the city of Trondheim, and is drawn upon as part of worldwide US military operations. Norway has met most of the costs of the MCPP-N since the 1990s, and the sites are mainly staffed by Norwegians.
United States Marine Corps front loaders and 7-ton trucks in the Frigard supply cave during 2012
An entrance to the storage caves at Bjugn in 1997
Vehicles inside one of the storage caves in 2015
Vehicles and equipment being offloaded in 2014 as part of the modernization of the materiel stored in Norway