Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a United States Air Force installation that shares its runways with the Albuquerque International Sunport, operating as a joint civil-military airport. Established in 1941 as a U.S. Army airfield, it was named Kirtland Army Air Field in February 1942 and became Kirtland Air Force Base in January 1948. The base occupies 51,558 acres.

During World War II, Kirtland served as a training facility for pilots and bombardiers, and played a role in the Manhattan Project as a transportation center for atomic bomb development. In the post-war era, it became a primary facility for integrating new nuclear weapons designs with USAF aircraft. It housed the Air Force Special Weapons Center, focusing on nuclear weapons research, development, and testing, including atmospheric sampling and missile development. The Air Force Weapons Laboratory, created in 1963, conducted research into nuclear weapons effects and laser technology, notably developing the Airborne Laser Laboratory.

Currently, Kirtland AFB is the largest installation in Air Force Global Strike Command. Its missions include munitions maintenance, readiness and training, research, development, and testing, and base operating support for over 100 federal government and private sector tenants. Major units stationed at Kirtland include the 377th Air Base Wing (the host unit), the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the 58th Special Operations Wing, and the 150th Special Operations Wing of the New Mexico Air National Guard. The base is also home to elements of the Air Force Research Laboratory, including the Directed Energy Directorate and Space Vehicles Directorate, and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. Kirtland hosts the Kirtland Underground Munitions Maintenance and Storage Complex (KUMMSC), a large underground facility for nuclear weapons storage.