Kinston Regional - KISO

Located in eastern North Carolina, only a short distance from Seymour Johnson AFB, Kinston Regional Jetport has been one of the big examples of transformations in American aviation history. Today, the airport is known as a growing center for aerospace activity and as one of the main bases of Draken International, but its origins date back to the Cold War.

The airfield was founded as Stallings Air Base during World War II before being redeveloped in the 1950s as Kinston Air Base, a Strategic Air Command airport built to support America’s nuclear deterrent posture. During the height of the Cold War, the base hosted Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 aerial refueling tankers, as part of SAC’s dispersed basing strategy. Like many military facilities of the era, Kinston was designed with a long runway, some hardened infrastructure, and rapid deployment capability in mind. However, the strategic priorities were later modified, and budget cuts led to the closure of the Air Force installation in the 1970s.

The airport then took a transformation to become today’s Kinston Regional Jetport. It slowly developed an aerospace-industrial identity: over the years, the site attracted aircraft maintenance companies and aviation manufacturing projects. Spirit Aerosystems has a major historical factory in the airport, mainly focused on advanced composite manufacturing of the Airbus A350 aircraft fuselage and wing spar aerostructures. Since December 2025, the Spirit Aerosystems factory is owned by Airbus and has become Airbus Aerosystems Kinston, employing over 1 000 people.

One of the other recent developments has been the presence of Draken International. The company, which provides “red air” adversary training for the U.S. military, established operations at Kinston as part of its will to develop an East Coast activity. Draken operates a fleet of former military aircraft to simulate enemy aircraft during combat training exercises. Their main fleet in the USA is composed of:

- Dassault Mirage F1 fighters acquired from Spain 

- Douglas A-4 Skyhawks bought from New Zealand as well as Israel forces

From Kinston, Draken International can support training activities for nearby military installations such as Seymour Johnson AFB, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and naval aviation units along the Atlantic coast. 

The proximity with all these military infrastructures allow Kinston to welcome US Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft for basic training maneuvers. During our visit to the airport, we could see a Bell MV-22B Osprey as well as a Beech UC-12W Huron performing touch and goes and low approaches.