CFB Cold Lake Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , commonly referred to as CFB Cold Lake , is a Canadian Forces Base located within the City of Cold Lake , Alberta . It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the " CF - 18 Hornet " fighter / interceptor . Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 4 Wing , commonly referred to as 4 Wing Cold Lake . Civilian passenger service was available through the Medley passenger terminal on the periphery of the air base . The regularly scheduled air service between Calgary and the civilian terminal was cancelled in June 2011 . Unscheduled civilian air traffic is usually directed to the Cold Lake Regional Airport . The facility is named Cold Lake / Group Captain R . W . McNair Airport . It is one of only three military aerodrome s in Canada to be named after an individual , Valcartier ( W / C J . H . L . ( Joe ) Lecomte ) Heliport and Moose Jaw / Air Vice Marshal C . M . McEwen Airport being the others . The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency . The use of the airport by international flights is currently restricted to military aircraft and personnel only . History . Construction of what would become known as RCAF Station Cold Lake began in 1952 at the height of the Cold War after the site in Alberta ' s " Lakeland District " was chosen by the Royal Canadian Air Force for the country ' s premier air weapons training base . The chosen location was near the former Town of Grand Centre ( now part of the City of Cold Lake ) , and was based on factors such as low population density , accessibility , weather , suitable terrain , and available land for air weapons training . Although the location of the range attempted to avoid First Nations reserves , it " encompassed traditional Aboriginal and treaty areas and the First Nations affected by the creation of the CLAWR were eventually compensated . " Personnel arrived at Cold Lake on March 31 , 1954 , with operations at RCAF Station Cold Lake beginning that day . The following year , the federal government signed an agreement with the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta for use of a tract of land measuring 180 km by 65 km covering an area of 11 , 700 square kilometres . This became known as the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range ( CLAWR ) and is the " raison d ' être " for the location of the base . CLAWR is the northern equivalent to the United States Air Force ' s Nellis Air Force Range and provides a different training environment with heavy boreal forest and numerous lakes more closely resembling European terrain . It hosts over 640 actual targets and 100 realistic target complexes , including 7 simulated aerodromes with runways , tarmac , aircraft , dispersal areas and buildings , as well as mechanized military equipment such as tanks , simulated radar and missile launching sites , mock industrial sites , and command and control centres . Operations in the 1950s and early 1960s centered around training crews destined for the CF100 Canuck all weather interceptor which was in operational use in both Canada and Europe . From 1962 , the arrival of the CF104 Starfighter resulted in a change of task , to the training pilots for Canada ' s NATO commitment in West Germany , which continued up until the arrival of the CF18 Hornet in 1982 . From then until today , the base is the training focal point for this aircraft , in addition to operational squadrons being located here . On February 1 , 1968 , the RCAF merged with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army to form the unified Canadian Forces . RCAF Station Cold Lake saw its name changed to CFB Cold Lake and became the responsibility of Air Defence Command . ADC and several other CF commands transformed in 1975 to become Air Command ( AIRCOM ) . During the 1980s , CFB Cold Lake was thrust into the international media spotlight when CLAWR was used as the target for testing of the newly developed AGM - 86 air - launched cruise missile s by the USAF . These missiles were launched from strategic bombers over the Beaufort Sea and travelled down the Mackenzie River valley , closely following the terrain at elevations of several metres above ground level . The tests caused significant controversy among peace activists and local First Nations on the projected flight paths since the new untested weapons were considered a destabilizing force in the international arms race , potentially contributing to instability worldwide . The Federal Court of Canada ruled in favour of allowing the tests to proceed in 1983 and the Canada – United States Test and Evaluation Program or CANUSTEP agreement was subsequently signed between both nations , allowing for the cruise missile tests to use Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories and Alberta en route to CLAWR . In 1990 18 sounding rockets were launched . In 2000 / 2001 , several CFB Cold Lake - 4 Wing buildings were recognized as Federal Heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings : Hangars 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 and the Senior NCO ' s Building B - 30 . In 2007 it was the setting for " Jetstream " , a TV series depicting eight pilots training under the 410 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron to fly a CF - 18 . " The relatively unrestricted Cold Lake Air Weapons Range represents one of the largest live - drop training ranges in the world and is the largest low - level flying area in North America . " Current usage . Today , CFB Cold Lake has the following units stationed at the facility : In addition to its value as a training base , CFB Cold Lake ' s fighter / interceptor aircraft defend the western half of Canadian air space and together with aircraft from CFB Bagotville cover Canada ' s Arctic territory . They are operationally controlled by NORAD from CFB North Bay and Cheyenne Mountain Operations Centre in Colorado Springs . Cold Lake aircraft forward deploy to airfields throughout western and Arctic Canada as operational requirements dictate . Cold Lake also hosts NATO flight training operating from 15 Wing Moose Jaw , as well as 5 Wing Goose Bay . MAPLE FLAG is a major international air weapons training competition hosted annually by CFB Cold Lake in May – June , making use of CLAWR . The name is derived from the USAF ' s famous Red Flag training exercises at the Nellis Air Force Range in Nevada . NASA and ESA astronauts use Cold Lake for winter survival training . Cadet Summer Training Centre . Cold Lake Cadet Summer Training Centre ( CLCSTC ) is located at 4 Wing Cold Lake , held annually from June to August . The primary goal at CLCSTC is the provision of a safe and challenging national summer training program . The Senior Leaders Course ( SLC ) moved to CFB Cold Lake in 1973 . From 1973 to 1987 , SLC was the only course offered at Cold Lake until the Survival School ( which hosts two courses : Survival Instructor and Introduction to Survival ) relocated in 1988 . At that time the two schools existed separately with two separate Commanding Officers . By 1989 , the two united under one Commanding Officer and became Cold Lake Cadet Camp ( CLCC ) . In 1993 , the camp added a third school , the Cadet Service Band , which ran for one year as both a Band and SLC but has now become solely a band program . It is these three schools that make up CLCSTC . The entire Cold Lake Cadet Summer Training Centre has a staff of approximately 205 staff cadets , officers , civilian instructors , regular force , and civilian contract personnel , from all elements of the Cadet Program and from all regions of Canada . The summer 2010 introduced an entirely new school to CLCSTC : The Fitness School which also implemented the first Basic Fitness and Sports Course to CLCSTC . The Basic Fitness and Sports is a three - week course that encourages physical fitness and teaches cadets to be Fitness and Sports Advisors in their home Squadrons / Units / Corps . After the summer of 2010 , the single , national , Senior Leaders Course will be discontinued in favour of the Leadership and Ceremonial Instructors Course to be offered in each region . The summer of 2011 introduced a new 6 week seniors course to the Fitness School ; Fitness and Sports Instructor Course ( FSIC ) . The new FSIC teaches cadets to be Fitness and Sports Instructors within their home Squadrons / Units / Corps . Non - military use of the CLAWR . Non - military use of the CLAWR increased since the 1990s , and " will continue to grow as various sectors vie for access to airspace , land and resources ( such as natural gas , commercial fishing , and logging ) in and around the range . Canadian Natural Resources Limited ’ s ( CNRL ) Primrose and Wolf Lake in situ oil sands project near Cold Lake , Alberta ( operated by CNRL subsidiary Horizon Oil Sands use the high pressure cyclic steamstimulation ( HPCSS ) .