Tucson Air National Guard Base Tucson Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base , located at Tucson International Airport , Arizona . It is located south of Tucson , Arizona . Units . Tucson ANGB is the home of the 162d Fighter Wing , Arizona Air National Guard . The wing manages a fleet of more than 70 F - 16 C / D and Mid - Life Update Fighting Falcons . Units stationed at the base are : History . Cold War . Military use of the Tucson Airport began in 1956 when the Arizona Air National Guard activated the Air Defense Command 152d Fighter Interceptor Squadron , which operated Korean War vintage F - 86A Sabres . At that time the " base " consisted of an old adobe farmhouse and a dirt - floor hangar with enough space for three aircraft . Despite the facility limitations , the Air Defense Command ' s Fourth Air Force judged the 152d FIS outstanding in accomplishing its air defense mission . It declared the unit " Best in the West " in the 1950s and the early 1960s . Late in 1968 the unit received its first of five Air Force Outstanding Unit Citations for converting from the F - 100 day - fighter to the all - weather F - 102 " Delta Dagger " interceptor aircraft in just 10 months . The unit did it faster and better than any other Air National Guard unit converting to the F - 102 . The Air National Guard officially redesignated the unit as the 162d Tactical Fighter Training Group and the 152d Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1969 . The unit ' s new mission was producing combat - ready pilots for the F - 100 aircraft . They graduated their first students in 1970 . Shortly afterward , the unit formed the Air National Guard Fighter Weapons School in Tucson . This school taught Air Guard and Reserve fighter pilots from throughout the country to effectively use advanced tactics and weapons technology . The unit received its second Air Force Outstanding Unit Citation for successfully continuing to train F - 100 students while completing the most challenging conversion in the unit ' s history . That tasking was to convert from F - 100s to A - 7Ds . The 195th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron was formed in 1983 . it was equipped with the A - 7D / K Corsair II . The mission of the 195th was to train combat - ready pilots for the Air National Guard . The unit received its third Air Force Outstanding Unit Citation in the 1970s and began another dimension in training in 1983 when the unit added the A - 7 Fighter Weapons School . During the 1980s the unit received its fourth Outstanding Unit Citation and the Spaatz Trophy . The Spaatz trophy recognized the 162nd Fighter Wing as the outstanding Air National Guard unit in the United States . In 1985 , the unit began a unique dual training mission in the F - 16 and A - 7 aircraft when the 148th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron was activated on 15 October 1985 The last A - 7 class graduated in July 1991 , after which the group converted to the F - 16A / B block 10 and continued the same RTU mission it had been tasked for previously . The Air National Guard began to train non - NATO pilots . Six aircraft from the 148th TFTS were designated to begin a school for those students . This group of aircraft and an initial cadre of instructors formed what would later become IMT ( International Military Training . ) The squadron had no official number or designation .