Southern California Logistics Airport Southern California Logistics Airport , also known as Victorville Airport , is a public airport located in the city of Victorville in San Bernardino County , California approximately north of San Bernardino . Prior to its civil usage , the facility was George Air Force Base from 1941 to 1992 which was a front - line United States Air Force base . The airport is home to Southern California Aviation , a large transitional facility for commercial aircraft . Facilities . Southern California Logistics Airport ( SCLA ) covers and has two runways : Southern California Logistics Centre , immediately adjacent to SCLA , offers a wide variety of new warehouse and distribution facilities , ranging from to over . The SCLA Military Operations in Urban Terrain ( MOUT ) facility offers urban warfare training , and has served over 15 , 000 U . S . military personnel during the past ten years . Airport overview . The federal government is responsible for helping the Victor Valley recover from the closure of George Air Force Base in 1992 . The conversion of the former George Air Force Base to SCLA was designed to provide major corporations with logistics needs , access to a global intermodal logistics gateway to the Western United States . Located near Interstate 15 in California ' s Victor Valley , the complete intermodal business complex is approximately north of downtown San Bernardino , and north of San Bernardino International Airport . In July 2000 , SCLA received foreign trade zone status from the United States Department of Commerce . The designation was intended to make it much easier for the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority to convince international carriers to use the airport as a base for shipping foreign products to Southern California . During that same period , the Department of Transportation approved a $ 4 . 9 million grant for the SCLA to extend its main runway from to to accommodate international jet transports . The airport authority required the extension to ensure that cargo planes could depart fully loaded in summer heat . The longer runway was also required for the efficient use of the facility as the main transportation hub for the 70 , 000 troops a year traveling to and from the Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin . At , SCLA ' s runway 17 / 35 is the second longest public - use runway in the United States , surpassed only by that of the Denver International Airport runway 16R / 34L . The Fiscal Year 2002 military spending bill earmarked to allow the U . S . Army to continue using the SCLA to transport troops en route to training exercises at Fort Irwin . The airport has proven to be one of the most efficient and safest locations for travel to and from the Army ' s National Training Center for the troops who rotate through each year . Company D of the 158th Aviation Regiment is a general support aviation company that moved in under a five - year contract the Army signed with SCLA and the city of Victorville . The unit is part of the 244th Aviation Brigade of Fort Sheridan , Illinois . In late 2006 , SCLA became home to Air Tanker 910 , a heavily modified McDonell Douglas DC - 10 , which is on contract to the California Department of Forestry ( CALFIRE ) . Tanker 910 is the only wide - body jet currently in fire service and uses SCLA as its re - loading base for fires occurring anywhere in California . On August 9 , 2007 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) announced that for their 2007 Autonomous Vehicle Competition both the Urban Challenge NQE and final event would take place at the urban military - training facility located on the former George Air Force Base . DARPA selected the location because its network of urban roads best simulate the type of terrain American forces operate in when deployed overseas . “ The robotic vehicles will conduct simulated military supply missions at the site . This adds many of the elements these vehicles would face in operational environments , ” explained Dr . Tether .