As an air station, the aerodrome is primarily used for the Marine Corps Preposition Program Norway, which involves the United States armed forces stationing equipment at Værnes and other facilities in the Trondheim region of central Norway.

The Værnes military installations contain place for up to six aircraft of the size of a C-5 Galaxy and barracks to house 1,200 soldiers.

It also serves the Home Guard, including its training center and the headquarters of the Trøndelag District (HV-12).

Værnes also serves as a storage base for the United States armed forces as part of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway.

The military installations contain place for up to six aircraft of the size of a C-5 Galaxy and barracks to house 1,200 soldiers.

The Ring Road connects the northern to the southern installations and passes past the main runway on the east side.

The main radar, a combined primary and secondary, is placed at Vennafjell, 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) south of the airport.

The center-distance between the runway and taxiway is 184 metres (604 ft), allowing simultaneous use by code E aircraft (such as a Boeing 747).

It was part of the plan to establish the Norwegian Army Air Service, for which Værnes was chosen as the initial station for Central Norway.

By 1922 the grass field serving as runway has become insufficient for newer planes, both in terms of length and level, but this was not performed until 1925.

The expansion was part of the plans for Festung Norwegen and was used as a bomber base for attacks on Northern Norway, and by May there were 200 aircraft stationed at Værnes.

In June, work was started to clear the forests near the airport, and graves from the Viking Age were found.

[10] After the war ended, the airport was initial taken over by the Royal Air Force, but they soon withdrew leaving the Norwegian military in charge.

After the war, former S.O.E and later main battle unit RAF 138 Squadron was posted as attached to 130 wing to Vaernes between 27-August-1945 and 7-October-1945.

The commission was unanimous in recommending Værnes, highlighting that the airport was of a sufficient size to handle all civilian and military needs in the foreseeable future, and emphasized the proximity to the railway and highway.

When the issue was discussed in parliament, several members of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications complained about the long distance to Trondheim, but the low investment needs (stipulated to NOK 1.3 million for necessary navigation and air control investments) convinced parliament, who passed legislation in favor of Værnes on 10 June 1952.

The costs were estimated at NOK 27.4 million and would allow the runway to be extended to support jet aircraft.

This called for a complex civil engineering program, as the railway and highway would have to pass under the runway in tunnels and an artificial island would have to be built in the fjord.

[15] In 1957, parliament started a new process to consider Heimdal as the primary airport, in part because the airlines and the Civil Aviation Administration stated that they felt Værnes was insufficient.