Before independence the town was called Serpa Pinto, after the Portuguese explorer Alexandre de Serpa Pinto. It lies on the high plateau of the south-east, at the eastern end of the railway from the port of Moçâmedes, and it was the natural gateway to the vast, thinly populated Cuando Cubango.

Portuguese Wikipedia says the present airfield was built in 1973 as Aeródromo de Base e de Manobra n.º 10, to serve as an auxiliary base of the Portuguese Air Force in the Angolan War of Independence. English Wikipedia’s article on the South African Border War records that, in the Portuguese era, South Africa posted two permanent liaison officers at Menongue and Cuito Cuanavale to coordinate air operations. Within two years of the airfield’s completion Portugal had left Angola; by the mid-1980s the field was in use by the new People’s Air Force of Angola (FAPA/DAA) and its Cuban allies.

In August 1987 FAPLA launched four brigades — the 16th and 21st light infantry, 47th armoured and 59th mechanised — towards UNITA’s base area around Mavinga. English Wikipedia, citing Vanneman, says they received air support from the airbase at Menongue, including MiG-23s deployed in ground attacks; Spanish Wikipedia also names the "MIG-23 de la base aérea de Menongue". Wikipedia’s account of the South African Operation Moduler describes MiG-23 attacks on South African combat groups and on a tactical headquarters in November 1987.

The forward airstrip at Cuito Cuanavale, closer to the front, did not survive the South African counter-offensive. The SADF shelled the town and the airfield for weeks; English Wikipedia says the strip was extensively bombarded, causing the Cubans to withdraw their aircraft to Menongue and abandon it, and that although it was kept in repair it could not safely be used by fixed-wing aircraft. Menongue, out of artillery range, became the air base for the battle.

Each side tells the air war differently. English Wikipedia quotes the view that South Africa’s ageing air force, limited by the arms embargo, was outclassed by the Soviet-supplied air defences and aircraft fielded by the Cubans and Angolans; it also records Cuban figures of six FAR aircraft shot down, seven Cuban aircrew killed and three captured by UNITA. Neither set of claims is independently confirmed here.

Menongue was also the rear base for the ground relief. South African History Online describes an initial contingent of 120 Cuban troops rushed to Cuito Cuanavale from Menongue, 150 kilometres away, and English Wikipedia describes a large Cuban and FAPLA column on its way from Menongue to relieve the town, slowed by the rainy season. Wikipedia’s Moduler article records South African plans to have 32 Battalion attack the FAPLA supply lines between Menongue and Cuito Cuanavale.

The battle ended inconclusively in March 1988 and is claimed as a victory by both sides: Cuba and Angola point to the town that was never taken, South Africa to the halted FAPLA offensive on Mavinga. The negotiations that followed led to the New York Accords of 22 December 1988, Namibian independence and the Cuban withdrawal.

After the civil war ended in 2002 the airfield was rebuilt. English Wikipedia dates the expansion of the terminal and the lengthening of the runway to 2008–2014. Portuguese Wikipedia gives a runway of 3,750 by 45 metres, a 4,000 m² terminal for 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers, and capacity for a Boeing 777-300; English Wikipedia gives the runway as 3,500 m. The reopening was reported by ANGOP in November 2014.

The new name honours "Comandante Kwenha", a child member of the MPLA’s Pioneers Organisation (OPA) who, Portuguese Wikipedia says, led the "Kwenha squadron" in the campaign for Luanda. Wikipedia places the 8th Training Squadron of the 24th Training Regiment at Menongue, with a list of L-39, Tucano, PC-7, PC-9, L-29 and Cessna 172 trainers; that list is undated, and defenceWeb reports the newer K-8W jets at Catumbela. In 2024 Cuando Cubango province was split, and Menongue ceased to be its capital.