Ali Al Salem Air Base Opts for Solar Airfield Lights

The airfield division has received an order for 600 units of its AW1601 601 stake mounting systems from the US Air Force (USAF). These solar airfield lights will be installed at the Ali Al Salem Forward Operating Base in Kuwait, which currently uses more than 2,500 units of our solar LED portable airfield lights.

Flash Technology’s self-contained solar LED aviation lights have proven to be the ideal lighting solution for Ali Al Salem and several other US forward-operating bases in the Middle East, where there is typically no reliable electrical infrastructure or access to grid power.

The Ali Al Salem Air Base is situated 39 miles north of the Iraqi border in a flat desert environment with little access to any electrical infrastructure necessary to support hardwired airfield lighting. As an ideal alternative power source, the USAF has been installing our solar LED portable airfield lights for runway, taxiway, apron edge, threshold, runway caution, helipad and obstruction light applications. The USAF has saved millions of dollars in upfront capital costs, infrastructure costs such as trenching, wiring and generator fuel, as well as long-term operating and maintenance costs.

The new AW1601 601 stake mounting systems make installing its solar LED taxiway lights into the sandy desert gravel extremely simple and fast. The stake mounting systems also elevate the taxiway lights from the hot taxiway concrete, increasing the longevity of their batteries and protecting the lights from vehicles and plane traffic if they are accidentally hit. The AW1601 601 stake mounting systems provide the USAF with a frangible mounting solution that can be moved at any time, should a taxiway be closed or if the lights are required on another airfield. The stake mounting system is just another solution created for the USAF in order to increase safety, reduce costs and support successful operations for portable airfield lighting.

More than 20,000 airfield lights are currently installed with the US Defense alone, savings millions of dollars in up-front capital costs and eliminating electrical, power and significant labor expenses.

Learn more about our lighting systems for military applications