Yuma International Airport hosts foreign military

When soldiers want to train in a warm, dry environment, one of the places they come to is Yuma.

If you have been seeing unique aircraft in our desert sky lately, its the Belgian Army and Air Force.

Two-hundred men and women from the Belgian Army and Air Force are training on tactical air insertion. It’s an air operation involving the employment of air power in coordination with ground or naval forces

Gen Grosse property community relations of the Yuma International Airport says this one particular mission is bringing in at least $3 million into the community.

“Not only the use of the facilities that the airport provides but the fuel that it takes to get here and to conduct their missions. Then you’ve got the hotels, the beds, you’ve got their meals, you’ve got all the shopping that they like to do, and the entertainment,” said Grosse. “Right now its a perfect time for them to come because Yuma is just thriving with so many different entertainment venues.”

The Belgian Army and Air Force have been coming to this facility since 2015 and they train in Yuma once a year.