Following the foundation of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1955 a training school for airborne troops was established at Altenstadt Air Base in 1956.

In June 1993, the base was officially named Franz Josef Strauss Barracks after the former prime minister of Bavaria, who had served on the air base during World War II as an "officer for military spiritual guidance" (Offizier für wehrgeistige Führung).

[2] Altenstadt Air Base is home of the German Army's School for Airborne Troops as well as a Bundeswehr Sports Promotion Section.

As a consequence, the School for Airborne Troops will be disbanded and the Bundeswehr Sports Promotion Section will be relocated to Oldenburg.

[3] In 2012 the Bavarian Office for Cultural Heritage Management announced that several buildings within the air base, by now in the possession of the Institute for Federal Real Estate,[4] are to be listed.