Little Rock AFB was authorized in 1953 and constructed 1955-1957. Limited operations began shortly after construction allowed it and flights started in 1955. The base was originally assigned to Strategic Air Command and assigned air refuelling and long range reconnaissance. From the early 1960s through the early 1980s Little Rock AFB also housed 18+ Titan II intercontinental ballistic missiles. Little Rock AFB was an operation base for relief efforts following a tornado disaster in Conway, Arkansas and the impact of Hurricane Betsy, both in 1965.

In 1970, Little Rock AFB was transferred from SAC to Tactical Air Command, although it continued housing SAC strategic units (mainly the Titan II missile silos), and the base shifted mission to airlift operations and training, which continues.

Little Rock airlift provided critical mission support in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the first major deployment of Little Rock AFB units to a combat theater, and also airlift support during the NATO involvement in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Since 2001 Little Rock airlift has given ongoing support to Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.