Amchitka West Airfield

Cessation of military and scientific operations. The airfield was purpose-built in the late 1960s to support the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) underground nuclear testing program. With the conclusion of the final and largest test, Project Cannikin, in November 1971, the primary mission for the facility ended. Following a period of demobilization and cleanup, the site was abandoned. The extreme cost of maintaining a large airfield in the remote and harsh Aleutian environment made it economically unviable for any other purpose.

The site is completely abandoned and in a state of advanced decay. The 10,000-foot runway, taxiways, and aprons are still visible from satellite imagery but are severely cracked, weathered, and being reclaimed by tundra vegetation, rendering them unusable. The entire island of Amchitka, including the former airfield, is now part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public access is heavily restricted and requires a permit due to the residual radiological contamination from the underground nuclear tests. The U.S. Department of Energy conducts long-term environmental monitoring of the island to track radionuclides and ensure they remain contained.

The airfield's primary historical significance is its critical role in the United States' Cold War underground nuclear testing program. It was a large, modern facility capable of handling heavy military transport aircraft like the C-141 Starlifter and C-130 Hercules. Its main purpose was to support the AEC's high-yield nuclear tests on Amchitka Island, specifically Project Milrow (a 1-megaton test in 1969) and Project Cannikin (a nearly 5-megaton test in 1971). The Cannikin test remains the largest underground nuclear explosion ever conducted by the U.S. The airfield was the logistical hub for transporting thousands of personnel, massive amounts of equipment, and the nuclear devices themselves to this remote location. Earlier in the island's history, during World War II, a different, smaller airfield was used by the U.S. Army Air Forces as a strategic base for bombing missions against Japanese-held islands of Kiska and Attu during the Aleutian Islands Campaign.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airfield. Reopening is considered virtually impossible due to several prohibitive factors:
1) **Radiological Contamination:** The island has long-term contamination from plutonium and other radionuclides, making large-scale human activity unsafe.
2) **Protected Status:** The island is a federally protected wildlife refuge and part of the Aleutian Islands Wilderness, making development legally and environmentally challenging.
3) **Prohibitive Cost:** The extreme remoteness and harsh, corrosive maritime climate would make reconstruction and ongoing maintenance astronomically expensive.
4) **Lack of Purpose:** There is no current economic, strategic, or civilian need for a large airfield at this location.