US Air Force Rebuilds WWII Tinian Airfield into Forward Pacific Base

The US Air Force has begun a major rehabilitation of North Field on Tinian Island, a former WWII airfield that once hosted B‑29 bombers used to drop the only atomic weapons in combat. Over eight decades the runway was buried under jungle, but engineers are now aggressively repaving the old coral surface. The project restores the historic runway and associated infrastructure, turning the abandoned airfield into a functional forward base for the Pacific region. The work signals a renewed focus on maintaining strategic air capabilities in the Marianas, where the island’s location offers a rapid deployment point for operations across the western Pacific.