Andøya Air Station
Andøya Air Station () is a military air station in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The station is located near the village of Andenes at the northern end of the island of Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. 333 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force is based here with Lockheed P-3C Orions. The squadron is Norway's only surveillance squadron and stands as the airborne defence of northern Norway. Andøya Air Station is designed to handle fighters and should it become necessary, fighter squadrons can be deployed to protect this region. Squadron 333 is the only Norwegian squadron still in operation after its initial deployment. The civil airport Andøya Airport, Andenes and the civilian sounding rocket launch facility Andøya Rocket Range are also located on the island. The primary function of the six Orion aircraft is surveillance, mostly in the North and for both military and civilian functions. The planes are also the only aircraft that can provide assistance to stricken ships far from land. The aircraft frequently cooperate with the Norwegian Coast Guard. The government voted in 2016 to put new Maritime Patrol Aircraft along with the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter at Evenes Air Station. Evenes will be strengthened