Ellsworth Air Force Base

Ellsworth Air Force Base is located 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota. Established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base, the facility initially served as a training site for B-17 Flying Fortress units. In the post-war era, the base supported B-29 Superfortress operations and was briefly renamed Weaver Air Force Base in 1948 before reverting to Rapid City Air Force Base. In 1953, the installation was renamed Ellsworth Air Force Base in honor of Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth. During the Cold War, the base transitioned through aircraft types including the B-36 Peacemaker and B-52 Stratofortress. It also hosted the 44th Strategic Missile Wing, which operated Titan I and Minuteman I and II missiles until its inactivation in 1994.

The base is operated by the United States Air Force under the Air Force Global Strike Command’s Eighth Air Force. The 28th Bomb Wing serves as the host unit, with a mission focused on worldwide conventional munitions delivery. The wing is organized into the 28th Operations Group, 28th Maintenance Group, 28th Mission Support Group, and 28th Medical Group. The 28th Operations Group maintains the 34th and 37th Bomb Squadrons. Additionally, the base hosts the 89th Attack Squadron, a geographically separate unit subordinate to the 432nd Wing.

Ellsworth Air Force Base hosts squadrons of Rockwell B-1B Lancer bombers. Infrastructure supports the 28,000-square-mile Powder River Training Complex, which encompasses portions of Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas. The base also supports MQ-9A Reaper operations through the 89th Attack Squadron. Former missile facilities associated with the base include the Delta-01 and Delta-09 sites, which are preserved as part of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Maintenance facilities support a workforce managing aircraft and munitions systems valued at over $9 billion.