US military air bases vary widely in size and layout
A look at how some US military air installations sprawl across vast tracts of land, driven by test and training missions rather than aircraft or personnel counts.
US military air installations do not all follow the pattern of a conventional airport. Some resemble small, self-contained cities, while others cover hundreds of thousands of acres of desert, coastline, or forest.
The scale reflects the mission. Flight testing, live weapons development, and experimental aviation demand large safety buffers, dedicated test corridors, and long runways. Those requirements have little to do with how many people are stationed at a base or how many aircraft are parked on its ramp.
Sources
- simpleflying.comThe 6 Largest Military Air Bases In The United States By Land Area