Hanscom Air Force Base

Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation located primarily in Bedford, Massachusetts, with portions extending into Lincoln, Concord, and Lexington. Established in 1941, it began as the Boston Auxiliary Airport, authorized by the Massachusetts Legislature. In mid-1942, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts leased the Bedford airport to the War Department for use by the Army Air Forces, and it was renamed Laurence G. Hanscom Field in 1943. During World War II, it served as a training site for fighter squadrons and later for testing new radar sets developed by MIT's Radiation Laboratory. This secondary wartime activity shaped its postwar role.

Since 1945, Hanscom AFB has been the Air Force's center for the development and acquisition of electronic systems. The Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) took over MIT's test site at Hanscom Field in 1945. In 1952, the first buildings for the MIT Lincoln Laboratory were completed, and the Air Force's electronic and geophysics laboratories migrated to Bedford by 1954. The Electronic Systems Division (ESD) was established at Hanscom Field in 1961 to consolidate the management of the Air Force's electronic systems. Although regular military flying operations ceased in 1973, and the airfield portion reverted to state control in 1974, the Air Force retained the right to use the field and redesignated its acreage as Hanscom Air Force Base.

The base is currently a non-flying installation, with the adjacent Hanscom Field serving as a civilian general-aviation airport primarily operated by Massport. Hanscom AFB is part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), one of six centers under Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). The host unit is the 66th Air Base Group (66 ABG), which supports the AFLCMC. Other units include the Battle Management Programme Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks (C3I&N) Programme Executive Office, Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) Programme Executive Office, 66th Force Support Squadron, 66th Medical Squadron, 66th Security Forces Squadron, and the 319th Recruiting Squadron. The base also supports the Massachusetts National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, Massachusetts Wing Civil Air Patrol, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and MITRE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.