Moffett Federal Airfield

Moffett Federal Airfield is located in Santa Clara County, California, between Mountain View and Sunnyvale at the south end of San Francisco Bay. Established in 1931 and commissioned in 1933 as Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, the base was renamed later that year for Rear Admiral William A. Moffett. The facility initially served as a base for the airship USS Macon. Jurisdiction transferred to the US Army in 1935 for pilot and aircrew training before returning to the Navy in 1942 for coastal defense and lighter-than-air ship operations. During the Cold War, the station served as a base for land-based anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft, including the P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion. The naval air station closed on July 1, 1994, and was transferred to the NASA Ames Research Center.

NASA Ames Research Center operates the facility as a joint civil-military airfield. In 2014, NASA leased 1,000 acres of the property to Planetary Ventures LLC, a Google subsidiary, under a 60-year agreement. Airfield management and fixed-base operations are provided by Avports LLC. Resident military units include the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard, the 7th Psychological Operations Group, and the 351st Civil Affairs Command of the US Army Reserve. The site also hosts the 63rd Regional Readiness Command and the 341st Military Police Company. The United States Geological Survey relocated its West Coast science center to the facility beginning in 2019.

Infrastructure includes Hangar One, a steel structure covering eight acres, and Hangar Two, a wooden lighter-than-air hangar. The site houses the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex and the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. Stationed aircraft include squadrons of HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft. NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Google also operate aircraft from the facility, including Boeing 767-200 and Gulfstream V types. Support facilities include military housing, a commissary, and a post office.