Where are the military planes in Puerto Rico?

Muñiz Air National Guard Base occupies an area of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, in Carolina, next to San Juan. It is home to the 156th Wing of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. For decades the unit flew A-7 and F-16 fighters and later C-130 transport aircraft; after retiring the last WC-130H aircraft in 2018, the wing was converted into a contingency response unit with no aircraft of its own assigned, specializing in opening and operating airfields in emergencies. The runway, however, still receives transiting military aircraft and temporary Air Force deployments.

The same base is home to the helicopters of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, with UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters used for transport, rescue and post-hurricane support.

In the northwest of the island, the former Ramey Air Force Base, closed in 1973, is now Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla. The Coast Guard's Borinquen Air Station operates there, with MH-65 helicopters and HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft dedicated to search and rescue and maritime surveillance of the Caribbean.

On the east coast, the large Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, in Ceiba, closed in 2004. Its runway became the civilian José Aponte de la Torre Airport, although it retains the capacity to receive military aircraft during exercises and operations.

Puerto Rico is the United States' natural platform toward the Caribbean and South America. In 2025 the United States deployed F-35 fighters and patrol aircraft on the island, at Muñiz and at Ceiba, as part of Southern Command operations against drug trafficking. That kind of presence is rotational: the aircraft seen in Puerto Rico depend more on the operation underway than on a permanently based fleet.