Kirtland Air Force Base is the third largest air base under the control of Air Force Material Command which is situated in Bernalillo County in the southeaster part of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The base former names were Albuquerque Army Base and Kirtland Army Air Field until it is named as Kirtland Air Force in honor of Colonel Roy C. Kirtland, the oldest pilot at the time of his death and one of the pilots who flew the Wright airplanes on 1941.
Kirtland Air Force Base Facts
- Website: Visit Kirtland AFB Website ›
- Location: Bernalillo County, near Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Phone: (505) 846-0011
- Latitude: 34.986121
- Longitude: -106.51379
- DSN: 246-0011
It was established on 1941 and houses the Nuclear Weapons Center of the Air Force Material Command, 58th Special Operations Wing, 377th Air Base Wing, and the 498th Armament Systems Wing alongside with the seven squadrons and ten groups. The Nuclear Weapons Center function is to provide nuclear knowledge in guaranteeing the safety and reliability of the nuclear armaments in support to the Air Force and the National Command Structure. It is also responsible for the purchase, maintenance, and modernization of the nuclear programs for the Department of Energy and Department of Defense.
The Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex (1992) started on 1992 at Kirtland which is biggest storage facility for keeping nuclear weapons in the world. It is also responsible for the maintenance, shipping and storage for the US Navy and the US Air Force. The Kirtland nuclear storage facility is high end state of the art structure standing in the underground of 300,000 square feet area with gravity bombs and maintains warheads for the Air Launched Cruise Missile but the warheads can not perform its mission until they have passed the nuclear safety procedure.
The Kirland Air Force Base and the Albuquerque International Airport share the same runways making the place a military-civil airport. It employs 4,200 active military men, 1,000 Air National Guard and 3,200 Air Force Reserve.
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