Creech Air Force Base

Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force command and control facility located in Clark County, Nevada. Established in 1941 as Indian Springs Airport, construction of permanent facilities began in March 1942, and by February 1943, it served as a divert field and base for air-to-air gunnery training. After a period of standby, it was closed in January 1947, then reopened in January 1948. In August 1951, it was designated Indian Springs Air Force Base and supported nuclear testing at the Nevada Proving Grounds from 1951 to 1962. It was renamed Creech Air Force Base on June 20, 2005, in honor of General Wilbur L. Creech, former commander of Tactical Air Command.

The base is primarily used for daily Overseas Contingency Operations involving remotely piloted aircraft systems, which conduct missions globally. It houses the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab, associated aerial warfare ground equipment, and unmanned aerial vehicles such as the MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170A Sentinel. Creech is also an aerial training site for the USAF Thunderbirds and an emergency divert airfield for the Nevada Test and Training Range. Key units stationed at Creech AFB include the 432nd Wing, which became the installation command authority in 2019, the Joint Unmanned Aerial Systems Center of Excellence, and the Royal Air Force's No. 39 Squadron. The base has two asphalt runways: 8/26 measuring 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) and 13/31 measuring 1,525 meters (5,003 ft).