The airfield was named for the 2/1st North Australia Observer Unit, a World War II reconnaissance force that operated across the remote north of Australia and earned the nickname "Nackeroos." The unit was established in Katherine, Northern Territory, and patrolled vast stretches of coastline and inland country that conventional forces could not reach — reporting on Japanese movements, living rough in country that defeated most men. Naming a rapid-construction military airfield after them was a fitting tribute: both the original Nackeroos and the 2007 engineers were doing something unusual in difficult terrain, relying on skill, endurance, and improvisation rather than established infrastructure.

The timeline of the construction is striking in its precision. Clearing and grubbing began on June 2, 2007. By June 16, the final screened surface material was placed and compacted. Two turning aprons were completed in just three days. On June 23, a USAF certification team from the 310th Special Tactical Squadron declared the airfield operational — and a RAAF C-130 Hercules made the first landing. Five days later, the airfield was approved for use by the much heavier Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. On June 29, the airfield officially opened during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2007, with Australian and U.S. C-17s demonstrating the runway's capacity. The ground beneath those aircraft had been raw bush less than a month earlier.

For seventeen years, Nackeroo's original dirt strip handled training exercises, including a notable 2021 operation when Marine Rotational Force-Darwin conducted a HIMARS Rapid Infiltration mission — seizing the airfield and landing a C-17 as part of Exercise Loobye. Then in 2024, the Australian Government committed $21 million Australian dollars to upgrade the strip under the National Defence Strategy. Mitcon Projects installed over 15,000 square metres of concrete and more than 5,000 square metres of heat-resistant hardstands, along with 25,000 dowels and 6,000 linear metres of saw cuts for the new pavement. The upgraded runway, oriented northwest to southeast and designated 14/32, opened on May 31, 2024. A public ceremony on June 4 brought together Traditional Owners and Defence personnel to formally mark the occasion.

The upgraded Nackeroo Airfield supports a significant expansion of training capability in Australia's north. The apron west of the runway accommodates two C-17A Globemaster IIIs on the concrete side and four MV-22 Ospreys on the heat-resistant asphalt side. Two taxiways, designated A and B, connect the runway to the apron. The airfield is operated by Range Control Bradshaw Field Training Area and supports joint Australian-American exercises that have grown considerably since the formal establishment of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin. For the Indo-Pacific security environment, this remote strip in the Northern Territory — named after wartime bush scouts — is quietly becoming one of the more significant pieces of training infrastructure in northern Australia.