Summer 1990 saw the peak of Air Force activity at the Tonopah Test Range Airport. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the base was mobilized to support Desert Shield. On August 19, 1990, 22 F-117A's from the 415th and a dozen tankers left Tonopah for Langley AFB. A total of 18 F-117s would continue onward to Khamis Mushait Air Base in Saudi Arabia for Operation DESERT SHIELD, followed by hundreds of TTR support personnel. The planes and a contingent of Tonopah Test Range personnel remained in Saudi Arabia until late 1991. As a result of the deployment and the pending relocation to New Mexico, flying operations and staffing at the TTR declined significantly during 1991. Some of the support facilities which had been open 24 hours a day, such as the dining halls and library, began routinely closing at night.