Холломан Әуе базасы: Тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

US Air Force base near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States

Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, which is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research. It is the home of the 49th Wing (49 WG) of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). In addition to hosting several combat wings, Holloman supports the nearby White Sands Missile Range and currently hosts the Royal Air Force RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) Formal Training Unit (FTU) and the Italian Air Force RPA training courses. The base previously hosted the German Air Force Flying Training Center. (range designation on 14 May), the neighboring military installation was designated Alamogordo Field Training Station (27 May) and Alamogordo Army Air Base (operated by the 359th Base Headquarters beginning on 10 June 1942).

Alamogordo Army Air Field (Alamogordo AAFld, Alamogordo AAF) was named on 21 November as a Second Air Force installation equipped with aprons, runways, taxiways and hangars. From 1942 to 1945 the AAF had more than 20 different groups for overseas training, initially flying Boeing B 17 Flying Fortresses then Consolidated B 24 Liberators. Training began in 1943 and in addition to the range, a detached installation operated by the base was the Alamogordo Gasoline Storage and Pumping Station Annex. In 1944 the "base operating unit" changed to the 231st Army Air Force Base Unit (25 March) and 4145 AAFBU (24 August), and on 16 April 1945 Alamogordo AAF was relieved of its training mission and assigned to Continental Air Forces to become a permanent B 29 base. Instead, by 30 January 1946, the base was planned to "be manned by a skeleton crew merely as a plane refuelling station, [for] emergency landings, etc. ", and it was temporarily inactivated on 28 February 1946. Post war the AAF was used to support the Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base which had its first Boeing Ground to Air Pilotless Aircraft launch on 14 November 1947. With the September 1947 formation of the USAF, in late 1947 the Holloman range and the White Sands Proving Ground merged to become the New Mexico Joint Guided Missile Test Range (later renamed White Sands Missile Range), and the renamed Holloman Air Force Base (13 January 1948) supported WSMR launch complexes (Launch Complex 33, etc.) firing of Tiny Tim (the first Army rocket), Rascal, V 2 rocket, Ryan XQ 2 Drone, Falcon, MGM 13 Mace, MGM 1 Matador, and AGM 45 Shrike. The 2754th Experimental Wing was activated on 20 September 1949 to oversee all research and development projects.

The Holloman Air Development Center became the base operating unit on 10 October 1952, and the 3500 feet (1067 m) rocket powered sled was first run on 19 March 1954. On 10 December 1954, Lt Colonel (Dr.) John P. Stapp rode a Holloman rocket propelled test sled, Sonic Wind No. 1, to a speed of The center was renamed the Air Force Missile Development Center on 1 September 1957 and inactivated on 1 August 1970. Additionally, Captain Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., stepped out of an open balloon gondola at 102,800 feet (31333 m) on 16 August 1960, in an attempt to evaluate techniques of high altitude bailout. Capt Kittinger's jump lasted 13 minutes, reaching a velocity of That jump broke four world records: highest open gondola manned balloon flight, highest balloon flight of any kind, highest bailout, and longest free fall. The Aero Medical Field Laboratory at Holloman "conducted space flight training with chimpanzees [in] 1961–1962", including Ham on a suborbital flight launched 31 January 1961, the first great ape in space, and Enos on a 1961 orbital flight as the third great ape to orbit Earth.

The 366th Tactical Fighter Wing arrived on 15 July 1963, making Holloman a Tactical Air Command (TAC) operating base. On 8 April 1966, the 4758th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron (DSES) arrived from Biggs AFB Texas. The squadron evaluated aircraft weapons systems and to provide training for air defense units. Aircraft flown by the 4758th DSES were the B 57 Canberra and F 100 Super Sabre. On 31 October 1970 the squadron was merged with the 4677th DSES at Tyndall AFB Florida. On 1 August 1970, per Air Force Systems Command Special Order G 94, the Air Force Missile Development Center was inactivated. TAC assumed host responsibilities for Holloman Air Force Base. Associate units and programs transferred to other locations within Air Force Systems Command. The Test & Evaluation activities that remained were the Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility (CIGTF), the High Speed Test Track, the Radar Target Scatter Facility (RATSCAT), and the Target Drone Facility. These organizations were combined to form the nucleus of a Holloman AFB tenant organization, the 6585th Test Group, with the Air Force Special Weapons Center (AFSWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, designated as the headquarters for the Test Group. In 1975, AFSWC was disestablished, and the 6585th Test Group at Holloman became part of the Armament Development and Test Center (ADTC) at Eglin AFB Florida.

Holloman was designated a Tactical Training Center on 1 August 1977 and on 1 October 1993, the Air Force Development Test Center at Eglin AFB was redesignated as the Air Armament Center (AAC). In 1986, a contract was awarded to Flight Systems Inc. (later Honeywell) to modify 194 surplus Convair F 106 Delta Dart aircraft stored at Davis Monthan AFB Arizona to the QF 106A target drone configuration. This program came to be known as Pacer Six, and the first flight of a converted drone took place in July 1987. Following the completion of an initial batch of ten QF 106s in 1990, most of the work was transferred to the USAF itself. Much of the conversion work was done before the aircraft were removed from storage at AMARC, with further work being carried out at East St Louis, Illinois. The QF 106s began operating as a Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) in late 1991 at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico, and later at the Eglin Gulf Test Range in Florida (based at Holloman and Tyndall). A typical mission would employ the QF 106 as a target for an infrared homing missile. The aircraft had burners placed on pylons underneath the wings to act as IR sources for heat seeking missiles. The intention of the program was for the QF 106 to survive repeated engagements with air to air missiles, to make it possible for each QF 106 to last as long as possible before it was destroyed. The last shootdown of a QF 106 (57–2524) took place at Holloman AFB on 20 February 1997. The QF 106 was replaced by the QF 4 Phantom drone. Today, the 96th Test Group from Eglin Air Force Base Florida is responsible for operational testing and evaluation of new equipment and systems proposed for use by these forces. Current initiatives include advanced self protection systems for combat aircraft, aircrew life support systems, aerial reconnaissance improvements, new armament and weapons delivery systems, and improved maintenance equipment and logistics support.

The 49th Wing – host wing at Holloman Air Force Base – supports national security objectives by deploying worldwide to support peacetime and wartime contingencies. The wing provides combat ready Airmen, and trains General Atomics MQ 9 Reaper pilots (including all Spanish and British Reaper pilots), sensor operators and F 16 Fighting Falcon pilots. Additionally, the wing delivers Air Transportable Clinics and Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources while providing support to more than 17,000 military and civilian personnel to include German Air Force Flying Training center operations. The wing has a proud history of service in World War II, Korea, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and NATO led Operation Allied Force. Holloman AFB supports about 21,000 Active Duty, Guard, Reserve, retirees, DoD civilians and their family members. Holloman is home to the world's longest and fastest high speed test track. The 846th Test Squadron set the world land speed record for a railed vehicle with a run of 6,453 mph (2885 m/s or 10430 km/h), or Mach 8.5 on 30 April 2003.

Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Biden administration housed some Afghan refugees in military bases across the country. Up to ~5,000 Afghan refugees at a time were temporarily held at Holloman while awaiting residency processing, with a total of 7,221 having residence at Aman Omid village.

Flying and notable non flying units based at Holloman Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Holloman, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,076 people, 393 households, and 380 families residing on the base. The population density was 165.7 people per square mile (64.0/km). There were 427 housing units at an average density of 34.1/sq mi (13.2/km). The racial makeup of the base was 73.3% White, 13.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 6.4% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 12.4% of the population. There were 393 households, out of which 67.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 88.8% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.3% were non families. 2.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.34. On the base the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 37.0% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 3.7% from 45 to 64, and 0.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 152.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 180.4 males. The median income for a household on the base was $37,206, and the median income for a family was $37,941. Males had a median income of $20,359 versus $15,425 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,568. About 8.3% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

It is zoned to Alamogordo Public Schools. The base hosts Holloman Elementary School (grades K 5), the zoned elementary school; and Hollomon Middle School (grades 6–8), the zoned middle school, both named after the base. The mascot of the middle school is the falcon. Alamogordo High School is the school district's comprehensive high school. Holloman Middle was formerly Hollomon Junior High School and originally held classes at barracks while the permanent facility was being established. Holloman Elementary opened in 1954. In 1956, 1959, 1965, and 1966 additions were built for the elementary. When the personnel at the base asked for the school district to completely desegregate for the benefit of its black employees, c. 1949, the school system did so.

Holloman is located in New Mexico's Tularosa Basin between the Sacramento and San Andres mountain ranges. The base is about 10 mile (16 km) west of Alamogordo, New Mexico, on U. S. Route 70; 90 mile (145 km) north of El Paso, Texas; and 70 mile (113 km) east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. The base covers and is located at an altitude of 4093 feet (1248 m). The base is also a census designated place (CDP), which had a population of 2,076 at the 2000 census.

An archaeological site that might shed more light on New Mexico’s ancient history has been discovered recently within the boundaries of Holloman Air Force Base. Base officials said geomorphologists and members of the 49th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental flight uncovered a campsite in early March, 2024, that’s about 8,200 years old and belonged to some of the state’s first settlers.