NAS Lemoore is the newest, youngest air station of the US Navy. It was purpose-built as a Master Jet Base in 1961, specifically designed for jet planes with the demands of the Cold War in mind. It is built near, and partially on, the site of an auxiliary field of the previous Lemoore Army Air Field, a small flying school. The Army Air Field was declared surplus in 1946 and permanently closed.

NAS Lemoore operated steadily from open until 1998, when the base was selected as the central West Coast home port for all Navy air wings, an action completed in 1999. As part of the consolidation of Navy air power, Lemoore also became the home of the Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific. It is today the home port of five carrier wings, as well as the station of a technical services training center, an aviation survival training center, a large naval hospital, and a number of other support services.