Tonopah Test Range Airport Tonopah Test Range Airport , at the Tonopah Test Range ( Senior Trend project site PS - 66 ) is southeast of Tonopah , Nevada and northwest of Las Vegas , Nevada . It is a major airfield with a runway , instrument approach facilities , and nighttime illumination . The facility boasts over fifty hangars and an extensive support infrastructure . Overview . Tonopah is owned by the USAF Air Combat Command . The known primary use of this airport is to shuttle government employees to the weapons test range from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas . The primary ( paved ) access to the facility is off of U . S . Route 6 at the north end of the airport . Dirt road access points also exist on the south and east sides of the range . The site is plainly visible from commercial airliners , which pass north of the base on transcontinental flights . History . The Tonopah Test Range airfield came into existence in 1957 and was used by the Department of Energy , the Air Force , and several contractors . The airfield was presumably originally built to support drop tests of nuclear weapons to support the AEC / DOE test programs , and only later was taken over by the military for flight testing . The area was open range , with wild horses running free . The Tonopah Range Airport first opened in 1957 , supporting operations on the Test Range itself , which was used for United States Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC , later Department of Energy or DOE ) ) funded weapon programs . It was apparently not a World War II era field , as it is not listed in the 1944 US Army / Navy Directory of Airfields . Eventually , the installation and its 6 , 000 ft asphalt runway was abandoned . The earliest known depiction of the airfield was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart . The 1982 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Airport Directory described the Tonopah Test Range airfield as having a single paved runway . Foreign Technology Evaluation . The advent of Operation Rolling Thunder during the Vietnam War in March 1965 led to the introduction of the obsolete and subsonic MiG - 17 ( J5 ) and the supersonic MiG - 21 by the North Vietnamese Air Force ( NVAF ) being pitted against U . S . aircraft . On 16 August 1966 , Iraqui Air Force Captain Munir Redfa took off from Rasheed Air Base , near Baghdad on a routine navigation training flight . He headed southwest , and in his jet , made a dash for freedom . Crossing the Jordanian border , Jordanian interceptors were unable to catch him , and upon crossing the Israeli border , two Israeli Defense Forces ( IDF ) Mirage III interceptors approached his aircraft . Captain Radfa lowered his landing gear , making a signal that he posed no threat , and he was attempting to defect . He landed his Soviet - built MiG - 21 F - 13 ( Fishbed " E " ) fighter at Hatzor Airbase , Israel and was granted asylum . The MiG - 21 posed a major threat to Israeli Air Defenses as well as to American pilots over the skies of North Vietnam . Over the next year , the IDF put in over 100 hours of testing of the MiG - 21 and shared the results with the United States . In a secret agreement negotiated with the United States Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA ) , Israel agreed to loan the MiG to the United States in exchange for Israel purchasing the F - 4 Phantom II , at the time , the top - of - the - line fighter for both the USAF and United States Navy . In late 1967 , a USAF C - 5 Galaxy landed in Israel , and the MiG was loaded into the cargo hold , and flown to Groom Lake . At Groom Lake , it was then re - assembled for flight . The aircraft made its first flight at Groom Lake in January 1968 . AFSC recruited its evaluation pilots from the Air Force Flight Test Center , while Tactical Air Command ' s were primarily United States Air Force Weapons School graduates . By mid - 1968 , the MiG - 21 was far less of an enigma than it was . Over 102 sorties were flown in the aircraft . On 12 August 1968 , the IDF obtained two Syrian Air Force MiG - 17 F ( " Fresco C " ) fighters that had gotten lost during a training flight and landed inadvertently at Besert Landing Field , Israel . The MiG - 17 was of paramount importance to the United States , because it was also used by the North Vietnamese Air Force . It was much more agile than the supersonic MiG - 21 , and in experienced hands it would run rings around the F - 4 Phantom . After a brief period of testing , the first MiG - 17 , coded HAVE DRILL arrived at Groom Lake in January 1969 . The second MiG - 17 , HAVE FERRY , arrived in March . By June 1969 , the results of the evaluations of the MiG - 21 and MiG - 17s were incorporated into the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the Navy TOPGUN training school . In 1969 Pakistan supplied the U . S . with a Chinese built MiG - 19 ( J6 ) which was tested under the Have Drill program . These aircraft were given USAF designations and fake serial numbers so that they may be identified in DOD standard flight logs . In May 1973 , Project Have Idea was formed which took over from the older Have Donut , Have Ferry and Have Drill projects . In May 1973 , when Project HAVE IDEA was initiated for joint technical and tactical evaluation of Soviet aircraft types , the tactical evaluation flights of foreign aircraft were undertaken by Detachment 1 , 57th Fighter Weapons Wing . 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron . In July 1975 , the 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight ( “ Red Eagles ” ) was formed at Nellis AFB as tactical evaluation organization . Also in the early 1970s , the concept of " Aggressor Squadrons " , was born , using the Northrup F - 5E Tiger II , which was found to be nearly identical in terms of maneuvering and speed with the MiG - 21 to train front - line combat pilots in Soviet Air Force tactics . Aggressor training was done where the units went head to head against USAF fighters in mock dogfights at this time to find out and exploit possible weaknesses . Foreign military sales of United States fighter aircraft to Indonesia and Egypt in the mid - 1970s to replace the Soviet fighter aircraft allowed these nations to clandestinely transfer un - needed MiG - 21 ultra modern MiG - 23s aircraft to the United States for evaluation . Up to 25 of these Soviet aircraft made their way to Groom Lake and pilots assigned to Detachment 1 , 57th FWW at Nellis were sent to the facility for training as " Aggressor " pilots . These pilots then were reassigned to the aggressor training units at Clark AB , Philippines , RAF Alconbury , England and Nellis AFB . However by the mid - 1970s , as the fleet of Soviet aircraft grew at Groom Lake , the facilities there were becoming crowded and the MiGs needed another clandestine home . Several locations were considered , Michael Army Airfield at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah , and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field on the Goldwater Range in Arizona . However , the Tonopah Test Range Airport was only 70 miles to the southeast of Groom Lake and was on the controlled AEC Tonopah Test Range fitted the need for a new home . The AEC airport had the potential for improvement and expansion , with the only public land overlooking the base miles away . Although not as hidden as Groom Lake , the airport would be remote enough to operate the Soviet aircraft . In fact , the security surrounding the Tonopah Test Range was so effective that the new base was not publicly reported as an Air Force military airfield until 1985 . On 1 April 1977 , the 4477th TEF was reassigned to Tonopah . In December 1977 the 6513th Test Squadron ( “ Red Hats ” ) was formed at Edwards AFB to perform technical evaluations of these aircraft . In 1980 the 4477th TEF was re - designated as the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the operation was renamed again to Constant Peg . The squadron developed realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics , dissimilar air combat training , and electronic warfare . Planes kept coming in from other sources as well . No less than three Cuban pilots brought their MiGs to Florida . A number of Chinese made MiGs were purchased outright from China via the front company Combat Core Certification Professionals Company ( CCCP ! ) and imported in crates . Three Syrians flew their MiG - 23 and MiG - 29 s to Turkey in 1988 . Over the course of its history the 4477th pilots flew three models of Soviet - designed MiGs . In addition , unconfirmed Soviet aircraft flown were MiG - 25 Foxbat ( YF - 116 ) ; MiG - 29 Fulcrum ( YF - 118 ) and Sukhoi Su - 22 Fitter ( YF - 112 ) . Crashes associated with the foreign aircraft included the 1979 Tonopah MiG - 17 crash during training versus an F - 5 and the 1984 Little Skull Mountain MiG - 23 crash which killed a USAF general . Aerial dogfights were staged between the various MiG models against virtually every fighter in US service , and against SAC ’ s B - 52 Stratofortress and B - 58 Hustlers to judge the ability of the bombers countermeasures systems , they performed radar cross - section and propulsion tests that contributed greatly to improvements in US aerial performance . All the models had quirks . The MiG - 17 did not have an electric seat , so pilots had to use cushions to position themselves properly inside the cockpit . Both it and the MiG - 21 had pneumatic brakes applied by squeezing a lever on the front of the stick . Many of the MiG - 21s did not have steerable nose gears , making them difficult to taxi ; the sign of a novice Fishbed pilot was the zigzag track he made while moving on the ground . If a pilot put the throttle back on a MiG - 21 , it would take a long time to spool up again when trying to accelerate . Thus many of those who flew it stayed on afterburners as much as possible . The MiG - 23 did not have that problem , as it was designed for speed - but it was unstable and difficult to fly . None of the Soviet - designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night . All were very short - legged , compared to contemporary US aircraft , and sorties were limited to 20 minutes or so . The MiGs had US airspeed indicators and a few other minor instrument and safety modifications . Other than that , they were stock - down to their Warsaw Pact paint jobs . Two pilots of the 4477th died flying the Soviet planes . The pilots had no manuals for the aircraft , although some tried to write one . Nor was there a consistent supply of spare parts , which had to be refurbished or manufactured at high cost . What was learned during these projects prompted the US Navy to commence Top Gun exercises first at NAS Miramar , California and then NAS Fallon , Nevada . Shortly thereafter the Air Force commenced its Red Flag exercise s at Nellis AFB , Nevada . Near the end of the Cold War the program was abandoned and the squadron was disbanded . Flight operations closed down in March 1988 , although the 4477th was not inactivated until July 1990 , according to one official Air Force history . The decision to shut down operations may have had something to do with the fact that a new generation of Soviet Aircraft was entering service and also the inevitable round of budget cuts from Washington . The assets of the squadron could not go to the boneyard at Davis - Monthan AFB , and the fate of them remains in some cases , still classified . Several of the F - 110s ( MiG - 21 ) were sent to museums or now are on static display . Some of the airplanes may have been broken up , and its rumored that some were buried in the Nevada desert . Also a few were used for target practice on Air Force weapons ranges . In 2006 , the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs . It was revealed that the US MiGs flew more than 15 , 000 sorties and nearly 7 , 000 aircrew flew in training against dissimilar aggressors in the Nevada desert between 1980 and the end of the program in 1988 . Detachment 3 , 53d Test and Evaluation Group . After the 4477th TES was inactivated , the remaining assets were reconstituted as a detachment of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB . It later became DET 2 , 57th Fighter Wing in October 1991 and DET 2 , 57th Wing in April 1993 ; in October 1996 , DET 2 , 57th Wing , became Detachment 3 of the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group . It is believed that Air Force Material Command operates MiG - 29 Fulcrum s and Su - 27 Flanker aircraft somewhere in Nevada flying against Fighter Weapons School instructors , 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron aircrews and F - 15 Eagle and F - 16 Fighting Falcon " Aggressor " aircraft flying from Nellis AFB . It is known that the USAF continues a Foreign Materiel Acquisition / Exploitation program , although the extent of acquisitions and operations of that program is not available . In March 1991 , in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War , a team from the Joint Captured Materiel Exploitation Center arrived at Jalibah Southeast Air Base in Iraq . They returned with a MiG - 29 nose , providing Air Force intelligence personnel with a Slot Back I radar and the Fulcrum ’ s infrared search and tracking system . Later in the decade , Air Force intelligence personnel were able to acquire more complete versions of the MiG - 29 , the result of spending money rather than fighting a war . In October 1997 , the US purchased 21 fighter aircraft from the Republic of Moldova — including the MiG - 29 UB . According to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center , after " undergoing years of study " and employing " all the [ center ’ s foreign materiel exploitation ] resources , " the MiG - 29UB was displayed in front of NASIC headquarters at Wright - Patterson AFB , Ohio . In 1997 , the United States purchased 21 Moldovan aircraft for evaluation and analysis , under the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord . Fourteen were MiG - 29 Ss , which are equipped with an active radar jammer in its spine and are capable of being armed with nuclear weapons . Part of the United States ’ motive to purchase these aircraft was to prevent them from being sold to " rogue states " , especially Iran . In late 1997 , the MiGs were delivered to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center ( NASIC ) at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton , Ohio , though many of the former Moldovan MiG - 29s are believed to have been scrapped . In 2003 , after the seizure of the Iraqi Air Force Al - Taqaddum Air Base , an advanced Russian MiG - 25 Foxbat was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U . S . troops . The MiG was dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqqadum airfield by U . S . Air Force recovery teams . The MiG was reportedly one of over two dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sand , like hidden treasure , waiting to be recovered at a later date . Contrary to what some in the major media have reported , not all the jets found at captured Iraqi Air Force bases were from the Gulf War era . The Russian - made MiG - 25 Foxbat recovered was an advanced reconnaissance version never before seen in the West and was equipped with sophisticated electronic warfare devices . Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth - moving equipment to uncover the MiG , which was over 70 feet long and weighed 25 tons . The advanced electronic reconnaissance version found by the U . S . Air Force is currently in service with the Russian air force . F - 117A Nighthawk Program . In the 1980s , Tonopah Airport became a major operating location for the Lockheed F - 117A Nighthawk . The first flight testing of the stealth YF - 117A aircraft began in June 1981 at Groom Lake Nevada . However , Groom Lake was too small to be useful as the base for an operational unit . In addition , there were security concerns because an operational unit based at Groom Lake would involve many more people who could now see things that they should not be seeing . Therefore , a new covert base had to be established for F - 117 operations . In the summer of 1979 , Tonopah Test Range Airport was selected to be the home of the Tactical Air Command 4450th Tactical Group ( 4450th TG ) . The mission of the 4450th at Tonopah was to guide the classified F - 117A Stealth Fighter to an initial operating capability . Beginning in October 1979 Tonopah Test Range Airport was reconstructed and expanded . The base was immediately staffed with US Air Force security police . The flight line was walled off with a double fence ; the only access to the runway was through gates . The area between the fences was lighted at night and had intruder detectors . At first , the facilities were limited to a few buildings , a small mess hall , and sixteen winterized trailers . Security checkpoints were placed on the sole public access road which led to the TTR . The runway was lengthened to . Taxiways , a concrete apron , a large maintenance hangar , and a propane storage tank were added . Phase II of the expansion consisted of the construction of an extra taxiway , a new control tower , a hangar , a parts warehouse , a dining hall , a water storage tank , and extensive fuel storage tanks . Phase III expansion of the facility was a runway extension to a total length of . Extensions were made to taxiways , the ramp , the runway gained arrester gear , and new navigation aids were installed . More fuel storage was provided , together with Liquid Oxygen ( LOX ) storage , a fire station , and the first 24 aircraft hangars . The cost was over $ 100 million . On 17 May 1982 , the move of the 4450th TG from Groom Lake to Tonopah was initiated , with the final components of the move completed in early 1983 . The Tactical Air Command ( " R " - Unit ) , also known as the " Baja Scopions " unit , remained at Groom Lake until the last production F - 117 was delivered from Lockheed in July 1990 . During the operational lifetime of the F - 117 , however personnel from Tonopah and later Holloman AFB would be temporarily deployed to Groom Lake for various checkout flights of classified elements of the aircraft . The F - 117 project was highly classified and Tonopah Test Range became a black project facility . Nearly all Air Force personnel and their families lived in the city of Las Vegas . Group personnel would be flown to Tonopah each Monday morning and board a contract Key Airlines Boeing 727 - 100 aircraft at Nellis AFB , which operated about 15 daily flights between the two bases . The member would live in dormitories at " Mancamp " during the work week , then fly back to Nellis AFB Thursday afternoon or Friday morning . All dormitory rooms had private bathrooms and showers , televisions with about 30 cable TV channels , a telephone with unrestricted local service to Las Vegas , access to laundry rooms in the building , and access to 24 - hour recreational and dining facilities around Mancamp . Civilian engineers and executives were allowed to commute on the Key Airlines or Janet flights , but all other civilians generally lived in the surrounding region and drove to the TTR in their own vehicles or commuted in chartered buses . On Friday afternoons , the reverse would take place , leaving only essential personnel at Tonopah over the weekend . At Nellis , the passenger jets sitting in the shadow of the foothills bordering the flight line became a common sight . If the base personnel knew — and many of them did — that the contractor aircraft were there to ferry most of the 2 , 500 inhabitants of Tonopah to work , they didn ’ t talk about it much . It was part of what became known as the “ Night Hawk spirit , ” the devotion to a secret worth keeping . It pervaded Tonopah and its sister base at Nellis , where thousands of family members knew not to ask where their loved ones went for four days each week . Support aircraft . Because of the tight restrictions on F - 117A flights during the 4450th TG " black " era , a surrogate aircraft was needed for training and practice and to provide a cover story for the 4450th TG ' s existence . The aircraft chosen was the Ling - Temco - Vought ( LTV ) A - 7 Corsairs II . The A - 7Ds came from England AFB , Louisiana , which was converting to the A - 10 Thunderbolt II . The A - 7 had been chosen as an interim trainer because its cockpit layout and avionics were considered similar to those in the F - 117 . It was also a single - seat attack fighter , as the F - 117 programmed to be . It therefore would bring all pilots to a common flight training base line . The 4450th TG was the last active USAF unit to fly the A - 7D . Along with the A - 7Ds that came from England AFB , the group acquired one of the new A - 7K twin - seat trainers from the Arizona Air National Guard for checkout flights at Nellis . A second A - 7K was acquired from Edwards AFB ( 73 - 1008 ) , which was the prototype two - seater that had been converted from its original A - 7D configuration in 1978 . In doing so , the group became the only active - duty unit to fly the A - 7K . A - 7D flight operations began in June 1981 concurrent with the very first YF - 117A flights . The A - 7 ' s wore a unique " LV " tailcode ( for Las Vegas ) and were based officially at Nellis Air Force Base . They were maintained by the 4450th Maintenance Squadron , based at Nellis . Some A - 7s operated from Tonopah from the beginning , and care was taken to leave them outside the hangars , so that prowling satellites could see that Tonopah operated nothing more exciting than some Corsairs . There were approximately 20 aircraft , including a couple of A - 7K trainers . In addition to providing an excuse for the 4450th ' s existence and activities the A - 7 ' s were also used to maintain pilot currency , particularly in the early stages when very few production F - 117As were available . The pilots learned to fly chase on F - 117A test and training flights , perform practice covert deployments , and practice any other purpose that could not be accomplished using F - 117As , given the tight restrictions imposed on all F - 117A operations . On off - range flights , the pilots talked to the air traffic controllers as if they were in an A - 7D Corsair II . Each F - 117 aircraft also carried a transponder that indicated to radar operators that it was an A - 7 . In January 1989 , just three months after the USAF admitted the F - 117A existed , the aging A - 7 ' s were replaced with newer T - 38A and AT - 38B Talon trainers as a measure to streamline the F - 117A ' s training operation . Many of these " Talons " formerly belonged to the 4447th TS " Red Hats " that flew " acquired " Soviet aircraft at Groom Lake , Nevada . One of the AT - 38B Talons even served as a USAF Thunderbird in the 1970s . With the arrival of the T - 38s , the squadrons Corsairs were retired ; the borrowed A - 7K being returned to the Arizona Air National Guard . F - 117A Operations . Routine F - 117A operations began in late 1982 . Before each night ' s sorties , there would be a mass briefing of the pilots , followed by target and route study . The hangar doors were not opened until one hour after sunset . This meant the first takeoff would not be made until about 7 : 00 P . M . in winter and 9 : 30 P . M . in the summer . Eventually two waves were flown per night . This involved eight primary aircraft and two spares , for a total of eighteen sorties . The aircraft would fly the first wave ( called the " early - go " ) , then return to TTR and be serviced . A second group of pilots would then fly the second wave ( the " late - go " ) . Typically , the training flights simulated actual missions . A normal mission would have two targets and several turn points . On other nights , there would be a " turkey shoot " with some fourteen targets . The pilots would get points for each one ; at the end of the night , they would be added up to see who " won . " The missions ranged across the southwest , and the targets were changed each time , to make it more challenging . The second wave was completed by about 2 : 30 or 3 : 00 A . M . in the winter , a few hours later in the summer . The planes had to be in their hangars and the doors closed one hour before sunrise . After landing , the pilots would be debriefed . The area around TTR was closely monitored . If a truck was seen in the hills around the base , it would be checked out , as were airplanes flying near the base ' s restricted airspace . Air Force members were also prohibited from driving into the town of Tonopah without special permission . Internal security at the base was also stringent . Personnel crossing into the double - fence area housing the hangars and flightline were required to pass through a security control point . This relied upon the Identimat hand geometry scanner , a biometric technology acquired by Wackenhut , the same company that provided perimeter security on the TTR . The F - 117 operations building was a giant vault with no windows . Within the building was another vault room where the flight manuals were stored . When in use , the manuals always had to be in the pilot ' s physical possession . If a pilot had to go to the bathroom , his manuals were loaned to another pilot or returned to the vault . The new F - 117 fleet was considered for several high - profile military operations during the mid - 1980s , but operations remained largely confined to nighttime flights around Nevada and California for a number of years . It took a presidential authorization to begin off - range flights . In the event of an unscheduled landing , the pilots carried a signed letter from a senior Air Force general ordering the base or wing commander to protect the aircraft . 37th Tactical Fighter Wing . In spite of the tight security , the Air Force was already making plans to “ normalize ” future support within the AF Logistics Command structure . As a “ black ” program , it would probably never achieve a support structure similar to that for F - 15s for F - 111s . Sacramento Air Logistics Center was tasked in late 1983 / early 1984 to prepare to take on full logistics and management responsibility for support of the F - 117A . A depot was established in 1984 to accomplish repairs and install modifications on the aircraft . This depot , first located in Lockheed ’ s Palmdale Plant 10 ( PS - 77 ) , eventually took the place of Lockheed Depot Field Teams performing the depot work at Tonopah . The F - 117s were moved between the TTR and depot by C - 5 , and were only loaded and unloaded at night . This arrangement required the aircraft to be defueled , disassembled , cradled , and then loaded aboard the C - 5 , flown to the depot , and unloaded before the real work could begin . Of course , this meant that the reverse actions had to occur at the end of the depot work before the aircraft could be reassembled , flight - tested , and redelivered to Tonopah . In addition to the logistical problems , the security also created safety problems . The nighttime operations resulted in two F - 117A losses due to spatial disorientation , one of the planes crashing 30 miles east of the airfield in October 1987 . An F - 117 based at Tonopah Test Range and piloted by Maj . Ross Mulhare crashed on July 11 , 1986 near Bakersfield , California . Another F - 117 piloted by Michael C . Stewart was lost on October 14 , 1987 on the range about 30 miles east of the TTR Airfield , and it took the Air Force nearly a day to find the wreckage In both crashes the pilot was killed on impact , and both were attributed to fatigue and disorientation . In November 1988 the Air Force formally acknowledged its F - 117 activities at Tonopah , bringing what was a " black world " program into " gray world " status . However F - 117 flight operations continued to be restricted to the nighttime hours . Late in 1989 the Air Force began preparations to lead the F - 117 into regular Air Force operations . This would be done in two phases : first , bringing the aircraft under the umbrella of the Tactical Air Command , and second , locating the fleet at a regular Air Force base . The first phase came on October 5 , 1989 when the 4450th Tactical Group was inactivated and the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing from George AFB was assigned to Tonopah . The Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) also activated the Det 1 , 57 Fighter Weapons Wing ( FWW ) at Tonopah . During this phase , three pairs of F - 117 aircraft left the TTR for Panama in December 1989 to participate in Operation JUST CAUSE . Only one mission with two F - 117As was attempted . In April 1990 , the F - 117 was placed on public display at Nellis AFB and the Air Force mission at Tonopah Test Range became a mostly unclassified " white world " program , though at no time would the general public be permitted near the TTR complex or on the Nellis Range . During this phase , daytime F - 117 flying operations began . Previously , training sorties were flown at nighttime under radio silence and without air traffic control contact . The change to daytime , white - world flying required much less vigilance on the part of pilots and was cited as improving the safety of training operations . 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 . Holloman Air Force base . The second phase of real - world integration came in January 1990 with the announcement that the 37th TFW would move from Tonopah to Holloman AFB , New Mexico , which would ultimately be delayed due to the Gulf War . As a result of the end of the Cold War , reduced defense budgets were the order of the day . In reviewing its tactical bases and the costs of maintaining them , It was determined that the 37th FW operations from Tonopah required considerable logistics support via commercial air and trucking . All military personnel were permanently assigned to Nellis AFB , Nevada , and were transported once each week by air . Also the security requirements of the F - 117A had been lessened with its introduction into the Air Force inventory as an operational weapons system . It was determined that a considerable amount of money would be saved by moving the F - 117 operations out of the remote site at Tonopah . Tactical Air Command also believed , while Tonopah Airport was adequate for testing and development of aircraft , it was unsuitable as a fully operational tactical base . Also , the Air Force wanted to retire the F - 15A / B Eagles operated by the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB , New Mexico , most of which were manufactured in the mid - 1970s and were costing more and more to operate . As a result , plans were put in place to construct suitable facilities for the F - 117A at Holloman AFB and to retire the F - 15A / B models of the 49th FW . The official ceremony for the F - 117A arrival at Holloman AFB came on May 9 , 1992 , setting into motion the final exodus of the Air Force at Tonopah . On June 1 , 1992 Det 1 , 57 FWW moved from Tonopah to Nellis AFB . On July 8 , the 37th FW was inactivated and the 415th FS , 416th FS , and 417th FS had all become part of the 49th Fighter Wing . By August 1992 , the TTR Airport was largely in caretaker status with many of the facilities mothballed . Post 1992 : Tonopah nowadays . After 1992 , very little was published about what , if any , aircraft were based there . The facility was placed on caretaker status effective 31 December 1992 , however the USAF continued to maintain the runway as active along with the navigation aids remaining open to the DOE and the USAF on an as - needed basis . In July 2001 , a commercial McDonnell Douglas MD - 82 aircraft landed at the Tonopah Test Range airfield due to a cargo fire warning light , according to an ASRS report . It departed without incident . The 30th Reconnaissance Squadron , operating Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , was activated at Tonopah in August 2005 as part of the 57th Operations Group at Nellis . The squadron currently operates the USAF ' s RQ - 170 Sentinel UAVs . It may also be used by the Detachment 3 , 53d Test and Evaluation Group for foreign aircraft evaluation testing . The airfield continues to be used by the DOE in support of its mission at the Tonopah Test Range . The DOE facility supports approximately 15 flights per week for its operations . The remaining flights are in support of the USAF and other organizations at the Tonopah Test Range . F - 117A Storage . In 2008 , the surviving fleet of 52 production F - 117As were stored , with wings removed , in their original hangars at Tonopah . Since the aircraft still contain classified material , the Air Force was not able to mothball them in the normal facilities and will use hangars at Tonopah instead . One of the mothballed Stealth Fighters is painted in “ Gray Dragon ” experimental camouflage . The last operational F - 117A left Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale , California , home of the Lockheed Skunk Works for Tonopah on 11 August 2008 , marking the disbandment of the 410th Flight Test Squadron , the last operational F - 117A squadron . Of these , one was scrapped to test effective methods of disposing of the fleet . However , it appears that in 2010 , four F - 117A aircraft plus two maintenance spares are reportedly back in use for R & D purposes at Groom Lake , but the rest remain in storage at Tonopah .