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Cannon Air Force Base sits some seven miles southwest of Clovis in eastern New Mexico, home to the 27th Special Operations Wing under Air Force Special Operations Command. It is an active military installation with two long, lit hard-surfaced runways and full instrument approach capability, but it is not open to civilian general aviation traffic.
Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation near Clovis, New Mexico, hosting the 27th Special Operations Wing, known as "The Steadfast Line", under Air Force Special Operations Command. The base operates a mix of special operations aircraft including the AC-130J Ghostrider, MC-130J Commando II, MQ-9 Reaper, CV-22 Osprey and U-28 Draco. For a simulator pilot it offers a substantial military airfield with long runways and full instrument facilities, set against the flat high plains of eastern New Mexico, though it is not accessible to civilian traffic in real life.
The base lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Clovis, New Mexico, in the high plains of the eastern part of the state. Field elevation is 4,281 feet. As an active military airfield it sits within controlled airspace appropriate to its status as a special operations base.
Cannon has two paired hard-surfaced runways. Runway 04/22 is 9,997 feet long, lit, and served by an ILS. Runway 13/31 is 8,186 feet long, also lit and equipped with an ILS. Both runways are hard-surfaced throughout.
Radio services include Approach on 125.5 MHz, ATIS on 119.1 MHz, Clearance Delivery on 120.2 MHz, Departure on 125.5 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, and Tower on 120.4 MHz. Additional frequencies logged for the field include PMSV (Metro) on 34.46 MHz, a command post frequency of 38.13 MHz, and 139.6 MHz. The field is equipped with ILS approaches to both runway pairs.
The site's aviation history predates its military role: in the late 1920s a civilian facility called Portair Field was established here, and from 1929 Clovis was a stop on the first coast-to-coast air/rail service between Los Angeles and New York, with Transcontinental Air Transport flying Ford Trimotors between Los Angeles and Clovis, connecting to overnight trains operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. That service later shifted its western routing away from Clovis in 1930. Transcontinental Air Transport went on to merge into what became Trans World Airlines. In 1948 the carrier Pioneer Air Lines served Clovis on routes linking Albuquerque, Dallas, and El Paso via a number of intermediate New Mexico and Texas stops. The military airfield itself was established as Army Air Base, Clovis, on 25 September 1942, becoming Clovis Army Airfield in 1943, Clovis Air Force Base in 1948, and finally Cannon Air Force Base on 8 June 1957, named in honour of General John K. Cannon (1892-1955). The base's host unit, the 27th Special Operations Wing, traces its lineage to the 27th Bombardment Group of the Second World War; after their aircraft were destroyed in the Philippines, its airmen converted into an improvised infantry regiment, fighting alongside US Army forces during the defense of Bataan and earning the nickname "The Steadfast Line". In 2005 the base was recommended for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure process, but the recommendation was overturned later that year, though the base's F-16 Fighting Falcons were withdrawn. On 20 June 2006 it was announced that Cannon would transfer from Air Combat Command to become an Air Force Special Operations Command installation, with jurisdiction formally passing to AFSOC on 1 October 2007 and new airframes such as the CV-22 Osprey and AC-130H Spectre subsequently assigned to the wing.
Cannon Air Force Base remains an active Air Force Special Operations Command installation, home to the 27th Special Operations Wing and its associated squadrons, including the 3rd, 9th, 12th, 16th, 20th, 33rd, 318th and 551st Special Operations Squadrons. It is not open to the public and civilian access requires prior permission. The base supports special operations aircraft such as the AC-130J Ghostrider, MC-130J Commando II, MQ-9 Reaper, CV-22 Osprey and U-28 Draco.
