Istres-Le Tubé Air Base ( or BA 125) is a large multi-role tasked French Air and Space Force base located near Istres, northwest of Marseille, France. The airport facilities are also known as Istres - Le Tubé (ICAO airport code: LFMI). Operational units and uses French Air and Space Force The user of the base is the French Air and Space Force with several operational units on the base, including: Escadron de Ravitaillement en Vol et de Transport 1/31 Bretagne Escadron de Ravitaillement en Vol 4/31 Sologne DAMS 11.004 (Dépôt atelier de munitions spéciales) or Special ammunition storage, responsible for the hardened storage of the nuclear mid-range Air-Sol Moyenne Portée ASMP-A missiles to be used by fighter squadron 2/4 in its deterrent role. Air defence squadron 01.950 responsible for the base air defense. 25th Air Engineer Regiment Guard detachment (Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air) responsible for the base security and ground defences. Other uses The base also hosts a helicopter squadron and a large repair and training facility. In addition, it also includes EPNER (École du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Réception); test facilities for DGA Essais en vol, Dassault Aviation, SNECMA, Thales and some aeronautical units of the French Navy. More than 5,000 personnel work on the base. Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force (USAF), during Allied operations engaging United States and France. During Operation Allied Force, USAF Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and Lockheed U-2s operated out of the base. Istres was the home of U-2 detachment OL-FR (Operating Location-FRance). Istres was also designated by NASA as a contingency landing site for the Space Shuttle in the case of a Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL). The base's runway is long and wide. An additional overrun area long was built for Airbus Industries in 1992. It has the same characteristics as the runway, making it the longest runway in Western Europe and thus suited to Shuttle landings. World War II Built prior to World War II, Istres Air Base was first used by the French Air Force during the early part of the war, and after the 1940 Battle of France and the June Armistice with Nazi Germany, became part of the limited () air force of the Vichy Government. It was attacked on several missions by Allied bombers based in England while under German control after November 1942. It was seized by Allied forces during Operation Dragoon, the Invasion