Qualla: Laguna Army Air Field https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:10 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Laguna Army Air Field https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field Laguna Army Air Field: Introduction https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field/ Photo credit USAAF, Public domain. Laguna Army Air Field has a control tower, two runways, and Class D airspace — the standard infrastructure of a working military airport. What makes it unusual is the aircraft it hosts. The MQ-9 Reaper, the large armed unmanned aircraft used for surveillance and strike missions, completed a 48.2-hour continuous flight here that set an endurance record. Then Laguna became the location where the FAA granted its first certification for an unmanned aircraft to fly in civilian airspace. The future of military aviation was tested in the Arizona desert.

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Image: USAAF | Public domain

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/9myd-laguna-army-air-field-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Laguna Army Air Field: Auxiliary Field Becomes Proving Ground https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field/ Photo credit USAAF, Public domain. Laguna Army Air Field was built during World War II as an auxiliary airfield for the Yuma Army Air Field, part of the network of military aviation facilities that the war effort created across the Arizona and California desert. The Yuma area's flying weather — abundant sunshine, ...

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Image: USAAF | Public domain

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/9myd-laguna-army-air-field-auxiliary-field-becomes-proving-ground.mp3 0:06 2 full Laguna Army Air Field: The Reaper's Record https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field/ Photo credit USAAF, Public domain. The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is the large armed unmanned aerial vehicle that became the primary platform for American drone strike operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. It flies at altitude for extended periods — surveillance, strike, reconnaissance — witho...

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Image: USAAF | Public domain

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/9myd-laguna-army-air-field-the-reapers-record.mp3 0:06 3 full Laguna Army Air Field: The First FAA Certification https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field/ Photo credit USAAF, Public domain. The endurance record was significant in its own right, but the more consequential achievement at Laguna came with regulatory history. The MQ-9 Reaper became the first unmanned aircraft to receive FAA type certification for operation in the National Airspace System — the civilian ...

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Image: USAAF | Public domain

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/9myd-laguna-army-air-field-the-first-faa-certification.mp3 0:06 4 full Laguna Army Air Field: A Quiet Field with Consequential Work https://qualla.com/laguna-army-air-field/ Photo credit USAAF, Public domain. Laguna Army Air Field does not appear in commercial aviation databases. It is not a destination that civilian passengers use. Its work — testing military equipment, supporting Proving Ground operations, hosting the unmanned aviation programs that have shaped the past two decades ...

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Image: USAAF | Public domain

]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/y/d/laguna-army-air-field-wp/9myd-laguna-army-air-field-a-quiet-field-with-consequential-work.mp3 0:06 5 full