Bad Aibling Station

Bad Aibling Station
Part of the BND
Located in Bad Aibling, Bavaria, Germany
Radomes of Bad Aibling Station
Bad Aibling Station Show map of Bavaria Bad Aibling Station Show map of Germany
Coordinates	47°52′46″N 11°59′04″E / 47.879444°N 11.984444°E / 47.879444; 11.984444
Type	Signals and data gathering
Height	492 m (1614 ft)
Site information
Owner	BND
Open to the public	no
Condition	dismantled, relocated
Site history
Built	1936/1952
In use	1952–2004
Demolished	2004

The Bad Aibling Station (BAS), also known as the 18th United States Army Security Agency Field Station, Field station 81, and Hortensie III is a satellite tracking station operated by the German SIGINT agency BND from nearby Mangfall Barracks in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.^[1]

Created by the Western Allies in 1947, it had been operated by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) until the early 2000s as operations have been transferred to the BND at Bad Aibling Station closure.^[2]

As part of the global surveillance network ECHELON, Bad Aibling used to be one of the larger listening posts outside the USA and equalled its counterparts RAF Menwith Hill (UK), the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (AUS) and CFS Leitrim (CDN).