Niger Air Base 201

Niger Air Base 201 (also known in some sources as "Nigerien Air Base 201") is an under-construction United States drone airbase located in Agadez, Niger.

The base is located around 5 km southeast of Agadez. It is owned by the Nigerien military but built and paid for by the United States. When completed, it will be operated by the U.S. military as a drone base. As of February 2018, the site consists of a runway, still under construction, a hangar, and numerous smaller buildings for soldiers to work and live in.

Operations
The U.S. military presence at Base 201 began on April 19, 2016. Once complete, the runway will be big enough to accommodate both MQ-9 Reaper armed drones as well as the much larger C-17 transport airplanes. Construction was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018. However, delays have pushed the completion estimate to mid-2019. Runway construction is being undertaken by the 31st Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers. As of November 2018, no ISR aircraft are presently operating out of the base.

As of July 2019, the 409th Air Expeditionary Group and the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion are stationed at the base.

ISR flights officially began on November 1, 2019.

Construction
The amount of US$50 million was approved by Congress for the base, but the cost may end up exceeding $100 million. The base was originally planned to be operational by the end of 2018, but delays have caused the completion date of the base to be pushed to mid-2019. The Air Base was described by U.S. officials as the largest construction project led by the United States Air Force.