Sheppard Air Force Base (IATA: SPS, ICAO: KSPS, FAA LID: SPS) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located five miles (8.0 km) north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.

The base is named in honor of Texas Senator John Morris Sheppard, a supporter of military preparations before World War II.

Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.

Senator Sheppard helped lead the fight for military preparedness before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A Texas cattleman, oilman, and philanthropist, Joseph Sterling Bridwell, sold the land to the United States Army for one dollar.

[3] It was officially opened as a United States Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June.

Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.

The aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.

It began providing undergraduate pilot training in the T-37 and Northrop T-38 Talon for the then-West German Air Force in August 1966.

Between 1960 and 1966 the Strategic Air Command (SAC) had training units stationed at the base that conducted aerospace rescue schools and weather instruction.

DoD recommended relocating to Eglin AFB, Florida, front-line and instructor-qualified maintenance technicians and logistics support personnel to stand up the USAF's portion of the F-35 Lightning II Initial Joint Training Site there.

This recommendation would establish Eglin AFB as the Initial Joint Training Site that would teach entry-level aviators and maintenance technicians how to safely operate and maintain the new F-35.

The 982d Training Group (982 TRG) provides instruction in a wide range of specialties at Sheppard and also at more than 60 USAF installations worldwide.

The 80th Flying Training Wing's mission is "To produce NATO pilots with the skills and attitude to succeed in fighter aviation".