Duluth Air National Guard Base

Duluth Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard installation situated on the grounds of Duluth International Airport in Duluth, Minnesota. The site was originally acquired by the City of Duluth in 1929 for an airport, which was dedicated in 1930 as Williamson-Johnson Municipal Airport and later renamed Duluth International Airport in 1963. The Air National Guard base itself was built in 1948 and has been operational since. The Department of Defense owns the base, which is operated by the US Air Force and controlled by the Minnesota Air National Guard.

Following World War II, the U.S. Air Force established permanent facilities on leased land. From 1948, the Minnesota Air National Guard developed its own facilities on the east end of the airfield. During the Cold War, the base hosted various Air Defense Command (ADC) units, including the 11th Fighter Interceptor Squadron from 1952 to 1968, which operated aircraft such as the F-51H, F-86D, F-89H/J, F-102A, and F-106A interceptors. The 87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron continued F-106 operations until 1979. A Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) radar command and control center operated from the airport from 1966 until its closure in 1969. The 23d Air Division, responsible for air defense in the upper midwest, subsequently replaced it.

The USAF phased out its active Air Defense facilities in 1982. The base currently serves as the home to the 148th Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command-gained unit of the Minnesota Air National Guard. The 148th Fighter Wing previously flew the F-16A ADF and now operates the F-16C Fighting Falcon. The base occupies 153.3 acres on the northeast corner of the airport, with an additional 16.71-acre munitions storage area. It comprises 37 buildings, including industrial and administrative structures. The base shares its airfield with Duluth International Airport, which features two runways: 9/27, measuring 3,228.1 meters with a concrete surface, and 3/21, measuring 1,743.1 meters with an asphalt surface.