Welcome to Langley Air Force Base
Langley AFB is one of the oldest continuously working air bases in the U.S..The most important mission of Langley AFB is to sustain the ability for fast global deployment and air superiority for the United States or allied armed forces. Langley AFB is situated on 3,152 acres of land between the cities of Hampton (south), NASA LaRC (west), and the northwest and southwest branches of the Back River. The history of Langley dates back to 1916 when NACA (the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics), which would later become NASA, established that there was a need for a need for an airfield that would serve as a proving ground for the Army, Navy and for all NACA aircraft. The site would have to meet the following two requirements:
- The site should be close to water for over-water flying.
- The site should be flat and relatively clear.
Plans for expansion were inevitable therefore the site would need to be unobstructed. This would allow for future landing and take-off of aircraft and in the vicinity of an Army post.
Fifteen locations were surveyed before the site near Hampton was chosen. The new proving ground was christened Langley Field.
Nowadays the main unit at Langley is the 1st Fighter Wing, whose mission is maintaining combat capability for rapid global deployment to conduct air superiority operations. To achieve this assignment, the 1st Fighter Wing flies the F-15 Eagle, which entered Air Force operational service at Langley in January 1976.