Luke Air Force Base

Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Maricopa County, Arizona, approximately 7 miles west of Glendale. Established in 1941 as Litchfield Park Air Base, it was soon renamed Luke Field in honor of Second Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr., a World War I Medal of Honor recipient. During World War II, Luke Field became the largest fighter training base for the U.S. Army Air Forces, graduating over 12,000 fighter pilots. The base was temporarily deactivated in 1946 but reactivated in 1951 as Luke Air Force Base under the Air Training Command, initially for jet fighter combat crew training with F-84 Thunderjets.

Over its history, Luke AFB has hosted training for various fighter aircraft, including the F-100 Super Sabre, F-4 Phantom II, and F-15 Eagle. In 1991, the base transitioned to an exclusive F-16 Fighting Falcon training base. Since 1994, Luke AFB has been under the jurisdiction of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The host unit is the 56th Fighter Wing, which is tasked with training F-35 and F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers. The base also hosts the 944th Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit, and the Naval Operational Support Center Phoenix. Luke AFB is a major training hub, with the F-35 Lightning II being integrated as the primary training aircraft. The base manages the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, a large training area for air-to-air and air-to-ground maneuvers.