[10] Control of Bentwaters was transferred to the United States Air Force on 16 March 1951 by the Ministry of Defence, and the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) designated it a primary installation of HQ USAFE on 7 September 1951.

Bentwaters was to play a key role in the defence of Western Europe during the Cold War when large numbers of USAF aircraft were assigned as part of the air arm of NATO.

The 81st FIW was a North American F-86A Sabre equipped unit, being activated at Moses Lake AFB, Washington in May 1950.

This would continue through early 1979, when the wing received and began operating the A-10A Thunderbolt II single-seat attack aircraft, affectionately known as the Warthog.

An A-10 Forward Operating Location (FOL) was established at Sembach Air Base, West Germany on 1 September 1978 when Det.

A-10's and support resources routinely rotated to these FOLs from RAF Bentwaters for training and Tactical Evaluations.

The Bentwaters-based squadrons were phased-down as follows: The last A-10 aircraft departed Bentwaters on 23 March 1993, and the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated on 1 July 1993.

Bill Kemball, from Suffolk, moved his large collection of tractors and other equipment to a building on the site.

The base was disguised as a Russian spaceport to maintain the illusion that the contestants were in fact in Russia preparing for their mission in space.

[17] The 2021 James Nunn action movie One Shot, set on an Eastern European prison island, was filmed at Bentwaters.