How Many Air Force Bases Are In Florida & Which Is The Biggest?
While the United States military has bases spread not just across the U.S but all around the world, there are a few states in particular known for having a large military presence. Not surprisingly, given their size, the states of California and Texas have some of the highest number of military installations — but the state of Florida is not far behind.
Given that it’s nearly surrounded by ocean, it’s expected that Florida would be home to some of America’s largest naval bases, but the state’s military aviation presence might be even stronger. Florida has numerous large air bases operated by both the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Space Force — and they stretch from the tip of the state’s northwestern panhandle all the way down to the Florida Keys.
The United States Air Force has a total of six large-scale bases across the state, including one of the largest active air force bases in the world. Along with primary facilities like Tyndall Air Force Base and MacDill Air Force Base, the list also includes smaller facilities like the Homestead Air Reserve Base. Florida is, of course, also home to the Kennedy Space Center and the legendary Cape Canaveral, which was formerly home to a USAF air station that has since been re-designated as a United States Space Force facility. The largest base in the state by far, though, is the massive Eglin Air Force Base.
Eglin AFB is the biggest
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Eglin Air Force Base is located in the eastern Florida panhandle and isn’t just the largest USAF base in the state of Florida — it’s one of the largest air force bases anywhere on earth, and it doesn’t matter which criteria you use to measure that.
With around 100 active planes at any given time, Eglin AFB easily ranks among the largest USAF bases by aircraft number. It also ranks high with its total land area and total number of personnel, with a workforce of around 20,000. Eglin is one of the USAF’s major fighter training and testing bases, with a fleet that includes F-35 Lightning IIs, F-15 Eagles, and other aircraft.
While Eglin AFB is an impressive facility on its own, located just a stone’s throw away is the USAF’s Hurlburt Field. Technically part of Eglin but with its own dedicated command structure, Hurlburt is the headquarters of the USAF’s Special Operations Command, and operates a full range of special ops aircraft, including the CV-122B Osprey, the fearsome AC-130J Gunship and the MC-130J Commando II. If somehow that wasn’t enough of a military aviation presence for this part of the panhandle, the U.S. Navy’s legendary Naval Air Station Pensacola (home of the Blue Angels) is also located a short distance away.
Air and space bases across the state
Also located on the Florida panhandle is Tyndall Air Force Base. Tyndall is home to the Air Force’s 325th Fighter Wing, which flies the F-35A Lightning II – the USAF variant of the military’s versatile next-generation fighter. Located in the Tampa area, meanwhile, is MacDill Air Force Base. MacDill is home to the USAF’s air refueling operations in Florida and is currently in the process of transitioning from the aging KC-135R Stratotanker to the new KC-146A Pegasus. A wide variety of other military and civilian aircraft also visit MacDill for training.
While it’s not a full base, Central Florida is also home to the Avon Park Air Force Range. Though technically operated by the 598th Range Squadron out of Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, Avon Park is the largest air-ground training range east of the Mississippi River and has a fully operational runway for visiting aircraft. Meanwhile, along with the aforementioned Cape Canaveral Air Station, Patrick Space Force Base is another former U.S. Air Force base in the state that became a Space Force base after that agency was established.
Finally, the southernmost USAF base in Florida is the Homestead Air Reserve Base. Homestead is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing, which flies the F-16C fighter. Along with the USAF, Homestead is also used by aircraft from both the United States Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.
