Originally made of pierced steel planks (PSP), portable runways were first used during the critical campaigns toward the end of WWII. Portable runways made possible the United States strategy of island hopping during these campaigns. Although PSP worked well with the aircraft of the WWII era, PSP could not endure the rigors placed on it by the post WWII generation of jet aircraft. PSP simply could not withstand the heavier wheel loads and impact of this new class of aircraft. AM-2 Matting was developed to meet this need.

By the time of the Vietnam War, AM-2 Matting and EAFs were in full service to both the Airforce and Marine Corps with over 10 million square feet of matting in use. It was during this time that the use of AM-2 Matting was expanded from its traditional use in SATS (Short Airfield for Tactical Support) to include small helicopter pads (72 feet square) which could be constructed in otherwise unprepared areas. These small helicopter pads later evolved into landing pads for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) sites for non-helo aircraft with vertical flight capabilities.