Albania's graveyard of MiGs to become NATO air base

An Albanian Air Force member walks near an old non-function Airplane (Antonov An-2 ) in Kucova Air Base in Kucova, Albania, October 3, 2018. Picture taken October 3, 2018 REUTERS/Florion Goga

KUCOVA, Albania (Reuters) - Long the graveyard of its once mighty air force, Albania's base at Kucova is set to become a NATO station - to the delight of its former airmen longing to hear the engines roar again.

Albania retired its 224 Soviet- and Chinese-made MiGs in 2005, and since 2009 NATO neighbours Italy and Greece monitor its airspace. That led to economic decline in and around Kucova, which was called "Stalin City" during the era of Communist rule.