97-542: The Fourth Air Force ( 4 AF ) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base , California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reservists. If called to active duty, 4 AF's ready reserve units would be assigned to Air Mobility Command , Air Education and Training Command , and Pacific Air Forces . Several airfields are associated with
194-612: A NAF were traditionally numbered 6XX (where XX is the NAF number). For example, the 609th Air Operations Center is a unit subordinate to the Ninth Air Force . This is no longer completely accurate, due to regular reorganization of Wings and Numbered Air Forces. Numbered air forces began as named organizations in the United States Army Air Corps before World War II. The first four NAFs were established as
291-585: A command level between major commands and air divisions . Although variations existed, and number air forces were often reassigned, this basic arrangement persisted throughout the Cold War . The role of numbered air forces changed in the 1990s during the Air Force reorganization initiated by Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak . The goal of the reorganization was to "streamline, take layers out, flatten (Air Force) organizational charts, while at
388-546: A coordinated jamming attack to complicate the testing. When inside the range of the GCI radar, and in anticipation of interception, chaff was dispensed to confuse the defense force and electronic pulses to jam radar signals were turned on. It was up to the defending interceptors and GCI stations to sort out the correct interception. Units operating these specially equipped aircraft were designated Defense Systems Evaluation Squadrons (DSES). The 4713th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron
485-547: A fighter OTU and RTU organization. Most P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning groups were trained by Fourth Air Force primarily due to the proximity of their manufacturing plants in Southern California . By 1944, most of the Operational Training of groups ended, with the command concentrating on RTU training of individual replacements using Army Air Force Base Units (AAFBU) as training organizations at
582-703: A former hallway/latrine area. The headquarters was moved to Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs on 8 January 1951. It received 21 former ConAC active-duty fighter squadrons (37 additional Air National Guard fighter squadrons if called to active duty). ADC was also assigned the 25th, 26th 27th and 28th Air Divisions (Defense) ADC completed the Priority Permanent System network for Aircraft Warning and Control ( ground-controlled interception ) in 1952. Gaps were filled by additional Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar stations and
679-506: A gain of at least 30 extra minutes warning time of an oncoming bomber attack. ADC's Operation Tail Wind on 11–12 July tested its augmentation plan that required Air Training Command interceptors participate in an air defense emergency. A total of seven ATC bases actively participated in the exercise, deploying aircraft and aircrews and supporting the ADC radar net. As the USAF prepared to deploy
776-919: A peacetime restructuring in March 1946, the United States Army Air Forces were reorganized into three major operating commands: the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the Tactical Air Command (TAC), and the Air Defense Command (ADC). These commands reflected the basic air combat missions that evolved during the war, and each reported directly to General Carl Spaatz , the Commanding General, Army Air Forces. Numbered air forces served as an intermediate headquarters between these commands and
873-659: A satellite in 1984. ADC's Consolidated Command. Control and Communications Program, FY 1965–1972 was an outgrowth of a 196x "ADC-NORAD PAGE Study" for replacing SAGE/BUIC with a Primary Automated Ground Environment (PAGE) . The program with a Joint DOD/FAA National Airspace System (NAS) resulted with DOD/FAA agreements for a common aircraft surveillance system, with the FAA "to automate its new National Airspace System (NAS) centers". ADC estimated its portion "would cost about $ 6 million, with annual operating, maintenance, and communication costs about $ 3.5 million" ("the first BUIC III
970-764: A separate Air Defense Command [from CONAC ] with headquarters on Ent ." The new command's mission was to be to stop a handful of conventionally armed piston engine-powered bombers on a one-way mission. The command was formally reactivated on 1 January 1951. With advances in Soviet bombers, ADC completed improved radar networks and manned interceptors in the 1950s. At the end of the decade it computerized Air Defense Direction Centers to allow air defense controllers to more quickly review integrated military air defense warning (MADW) data and dispatch defenses (e.g., surface-to-air missiles in 1959). ADC began missile warning and space surveillance missions in 1960 and 1961, and established
1067-587: A separate multi-service CONAD headquarters staff (with an Air Force Element), separated command of ADC from CINCONAD, and in 1957 added Alaskan Air Command and Northeast Air Command components to ADC Former NEAC installations in the smaller "Canadian Northeast Area" were transferred to the Canadian Air Defence Command . (e.g., the Hall Beach DEW Line station constructed 1955–1957 -- cf. Canada's Hopedale stations of
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#17327730624431164-1008: A temporary missile warning network for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis . In 1968 it was redesignated Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM). In 1975, ADCOM became a specified command and the United States' executive agent in the North American Air Defense Command —the single CINCNORAD/CINCAD commanded both. ADCOM's last surface-to-air missiles were taken off alert in 1972, and the Federal Aviation Administration took over many of ADCOM's SAGE radar stations . On 1 October 1979 ADCOM interceptors/bases and remaining air warning radar stations transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC), with these "atmospheric" units assigned to Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). ADCOM's missile warning and space surveillance installations transferred in 1979 to
1261-486: Is commanded by Major General Derin S. Durham . Fourth Air Force flying units include one unit-equipped air mobility and two unit-equipped airlift wings, five unit-equipped air refueling wings, three associate air mobility wings, two associate airlift wings and one associate air refueling wing. One of the four original numbered air forces, Fourth Air Force was activated as the Southwest Air District of
1358-593: Is designated as Air Force Northern (AFNORTH) in its role as the air component of the United States Northern Command . Most C-NAFs have an Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) to provide command and control of air and space operations for the supported combatant commander. The table below lists current and historical numbered air forces of the US Air Force, their C-NAF designation (if applicable), their current shield and station, and
1455-418: The 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing , based at Otis Air Force Base , Massachusetts , and the 552nd AEWCW , based at McClellan Air Force Base , California , one wing stationed on each coast. The RC-121s, EC-121s and Texas Towers, it was believed, would contribute to extending contiguous east-coast radar coverage some 300 to 500 miles seaward. In terms of the air threat of the 1950s, this meant
1552-873: The 556th Reconnaissance Squadron and moved to Kadena AB , Okinawa. EB-57s were also deployed to Alaskan Air Command , Elmendorf AFB , Alaska, frequently. The 134th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron , Vermont Air National Guard, retired its last EB-57 in 1983, and the operational use of the B-57 Canberra ended. ADC supported 4-story SAGE blockhouses were hardened for overpressures of 5 psi (34 kPa). NORAD sector direction center (NSDCs) also had air defense artillery director (ADAD) consoles [and an Army] ADA battle staff officer." The sector direction centers automatically communicated crosstelling of "SAGE reference track data" to/from adjacent sectors' DCs and to 10 Project Nike Missile Master Army Air Defense Command Posts . From 1 September 1954 until 1975, ADC
1649-721: The Afghanistan War (2001-2021) ; the Iraq War (2003-2011); and later anti- ISIS (Daesh) operations. [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Numbered air force A Numbered Air Force ( NAF ) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squadrons, and groups. A Component Numbered Air Force ( C-NAF ) has
1746-782: The Eglin AFB Site C-6 Project Space Track radar (the Eglin phased array's IOC was in 1969, and the North Dakota CMEWS "began passing" PARCS phased array data to NORAD in 1977 after being "modified for the ADCOM mission". After claiming in March 1958 that "the Army's ZEUS did not have the growth potential to handle possible enemy evasion decoy and countermeasure tactics", the USAF similarly identified by early 1959 that its planned Wizard missile
1843-728: The First Air Force , Second Air Force , Third Air Force , and Fourth Air Force . The First and Fourth Air Forces, through their interceptor commands, managed the civilian Aircraft Warning Service on the East and West Coasts , respectively. The USAAF's Aircraft Warning Corps provided air defense warning with information centers that networked an area's " Army Radar Stations " which communicated radar tracks by telephone. The AWC information centers also integrated visual reports processed by Ground Observer Corps filter centers. AWC information centers notified air defense command posts of
1940-710: The GHQ Air Force on 18 December 1940, at March Field , California. It was redesignated Fourth Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southwest and Lower Midwest regions of the United States. During World War II Fourth Air Force was the primary air defense command for the West Coast. The command also flew antisubmarine patrols along coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico from after Pearl Harbor until October 1942. One of its primary fighter units
2037-533: The Ground Observation Corps (disbanded 1959). In May 1954, ADC moved their initial, rudimentary command center into a "much improved 15,000-square-foot concrete block" building with "main battle control center". During the mid-1950s, planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with Airborne early warning and control units. This was done by equipping two wings of Lockheed RC-121 Warning Star aircraft,
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#17327730624432134-539: The Moorestown BMEWS station "to a Spacetrack Analysis Center at Colorado Springs." On 31 December 1965, Forward Scatter Over-the-Horizon network data from the 440L Data Reduction Center was being received by ADC for missile warning, and a NORAD plan for 1 April 1966 was for ADC to "reorganize its remaining 26th , 28th , 29th , and 73d Air Divisions into four air forces." The 1966 20th Surveillance Squadron began ADC's phased array operations with
2231-683: The P-61 Black Widow , did not have the capabilities to engage the Soviet Tu-4 bomber. Its successor, the F-82 Twin Mustang , was even more disappointing. It took a long time to get into production and did not perform well in inclement weather. The early jet fighters, such as the F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet , lacked all-weather capability and were deemed useless for air defense purposes. Much hope
2328-839: The Strategic Air Command 's Directorate of Space and Missile Warning Systems (SAC/SX), ) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command 's Air Force Element, NORAD/ADCOM (AFENA) , which was redesignated the Aerospace Defense Center . The command was inactivated on 31 March 1980. With the disestablishment of TAC and SAC in 1992, the Aerospace Defense Center, the ADCOM specified command organizations, along with SAC's missile warning and space surveillance installations. became part of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). Air Force Space Command activated its headquarters in
2425-690: The Tactical Air Command E-3 Sentry in the later 1970s, active-duty units were phased out EC-121 operations by the end of 1975. All remaining EC-121s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve , which formed the 79th AEWCS at Homestead Air Force Base , Florida in early 1976. The active duty force continued to provide personnel to operate the EC-121s on a 24-hour basis, assigning Detachment 1, 20th Air Defense Squadron to Homestead AFB as associate active duty crews to fly
2522-552: The Vietnam War caused by two major ground explosions, twelve B-57Es were reconfigured as combat-capable B-57Bs at the Martin factory in late 1965 and were deployed to Southeast Asia for combat bombardment operations. Six other B-57Es were converted to RB-57E "Patricia Lynn" tactical reconnaissance aircraft in 1966 during the Vietnam War , operating from Tan Son Nhut Air Base until 1971. The Bomarc Missile Program delivered
2619-602: The War in Iraq ; and, with a more recent start, air refueling and other support in regard to the Yemeni Civil War . Source: Air Defense Command 1951 January 8: Ent AFB , Colorado Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force , responsible for air defense of the continental United States . It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command ,
2716-473: The " 4 continental air forces " for deploying interceptor aircraft which used command guidance for ground-controlled interception . The USAAF inactivated the aircraft warning network in April 1944. Continental Air Forces (CAF) was activated on 12 December 1944, including the four Air Forces, to bring the continental air defense task under one command. AAF Regulation 20-1, dated 15 September 1945, specified
2813-573: The 1950s, went into decline. BOMARC, for example, was dropped from the weapons inventory, and the F-101 and F-102 passed from the regular Air Force inventory into the National Guard. To save funds and manpower, drastic reductions were made in the number of long range radar stations, the number of interceptor squadrons, and in the organizational structure. By 1968 the DOD was making plans to phase down
2910-531: The 1954 Pinetree Line and 1957 Mid-Canada Line .) 64th Air Division personnel were assigned to main stations of the 1957 DEW Line and annually inspected auxiliary/intermediate DEW stations maintained by the "DEW M&O Contractor ." On 1 March 1957 CONAD reduced the number of ADC interceptor squadrons on alert for the Air Defense Identification Zone . "At the end of 1957, ADC operated 182 radar stations…32 had been added during
3007-583: The 4677th DSES was redesignated as the 17th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron . This unit was inactivated in July 1979 and was the last to fly B-57s in the active duty USAF. It shared the Defense Systems Evaluation mission with the Kansas and Vermont Air National Guard. Defense Systems Evaluation operations were also carried out by the 6091st Reconnaissance Squadron , Yokota AB, Japan; later
Fourth Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-543: The ABM missile fire was considered "the heart of the entire [planned] ballistic missile defense system (conceived to have Nike Zeus and Wizard missiles .) On 19 October 1959, HQ USAF assigned ADC the "planning responsibility" for eventual operations of the Missile Defense Alarm System to detect ICBM launches with infrared sensors on space vehicles. ADC's BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility
3201-612: The AN/FSQ-7 used the Automatic Target and Battery Evaluation (ATABE) to determine which bombers/formations to assign to which manned interceptor base (e.g., using nuclear air-to-air missiles), which to assign to Bomarcs (e.g., with W-40 nuclear warheads ) and if available, which to assign to the region's Nike Army Air Defense Command Post (that also had ATABE software for efficiently coordinating fire from multiple Hercules missile batteries.) Bomarc missiles bases were along
3298-621: The Air Force Combat Command in 1941. Several of the numbered air forces began as named air forces. Since World War II other named air forces have existed in both operational and support commands. Air Forces Iceland , and the Central, Eastern, Japan, and Western Air Defense Forces, have provided air defense capability. The USAF Special Operations Force controlled operational special forces. The Crew, Flying, and Technical Training Air Forces served Air Training Command both in
3395-472: The Air Force contribution to United States Space Command , in addition to its Northern Command and Continental NORAD roles. Contains components of the inactivated 24, and 25 AF's. Named Air Forces operate at the same level as Numbered Air Forces. General Headquarters Air Force, the first named air force of the United States Army 's air arm, began operations in 1935. The GHQ Air Force became
3492-611: The Air Force was increasingly of the opinion that unmanned intercontinental ballistic missiles could accomplish the mission of the B-70 Valkyrie/F-108 Rapier combination much more effectively and at far lower cost. Consequently, the F-108A project was cancelled in its entirety on 23 September 1959, before any prototypes could be built. In 1968, ADCOM began the phaseout of the F-101 and F-102 interceptors from active duty units, with both types mostly being transferred to
3589-621: The Air National Guard. The F-101 would remain in a limited role on active duty until 1982, serving in such roles as towed target carrier aircraft and simulated enemy radar contacts for Airborne Weapons Controller students training for duties aboard the E-3 Sentry AWACS. The F-102 would see service until the mid-1980s as the PQM-102 aerial target drone. The F-106 Delta Dart was the primary air defense interceptor aircraft for
3686-550: The Fourth Air Force. One of the four original pre–World War II numbered air forces, 4 AF was activated on 18 December 1940, at March Field , California with a mission of air defense of the Southwestern United States and Lower Midwest regions. During the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. 4 AF
3783-706: The Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Air Districts on 19 October 1940 to provide air defense for the United States. These Air Districts were redesignated as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Air Forces, respectively, on 26 March 1941. Over a year after the establishment of the United States Army Air Forces on 20 June 1941, the Arabic numerals were changed to the First , Second , Third , and Fourth Air Forces on 18 September 1942. Other organizations established during this period and that became Numbered air forces include
3880-770: The Philippine Department Air Force (became Fifth Air Force ), the Panama Canal Air Force (became Sixth Air Force ), the Hawaiian Air Force (became Seventh Air Force ), and the Alaskan Air Force (became Eleventh Air Force ). After World War II, the US Air Force continued to use both named and numbered air forces. While named air forces were used in both tactical and support roles, numbered air forces were generally employed only in tactical roles. As part of
3977-550: The Reserve-owned aircraft. Besides monitoring Cuban waters, these last Warning Stars also operated from NAS Keflavik , Iceland. Final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978. The United States Army Air Forces activated Air Defense Command (ADC) in 1946, with a Numbered Air Force of the former Continental Air Forces , from which it took its mission of air warning and air defense. In September 1947, it became part of
Fourth Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-641: The Sabre, the F-86D . Despite the demands its complexity made upon a single pilot, the F-86D was backed by senior Air Force officials. Some 2,504 would be built and it would in time be the most numerous interceptor in the Air Defense Command fleet, with more than 1,000 in service by the end of 1955 The F-86D was not ideal, however; its afterburner consumed a great deal of fuel in getting it to altitude, and
4171-686: The US Air Force during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was also the last dedicated interceptor in U.S. Air Force service to date. It was gradually retired during the 1980s, though the QF-106 drone conversions of the aircraft were used until 1998 as aerial targets under the FSAT program. B-57E Canberra dedicated Air Defense Command target towing aircraft were used for training of F-86D Sabre , F-94C Starfire , and F-89D Scorpion interceptors firing 2.75-inch Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets . Due to
4268-495: The United States and AMC gained AFRC strategic airlift units in the western United States. Today the sixty person staff consists of Traditional Reservists, Air Reserve Technicians and civilian employees. They direct the activities and supervise the equipping and training of more than 30,000 Air Force reservists in unit programs located across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. Reservists from 4 AF units were routinely deployed with Air Expeditionary units to fight in
4365-630: The United States, Europe, and the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This included more than 2,878 medical personnel assigned to Fourth Air Force units. Since the end of the Cold War, Fourth Air Force has supported humanitarian missions such as Provide Promise in the Balkans and Provide Relief and Restore Hope in Somalia. Units rushed to provide aid and rescue service to
4462-623: The additional role as an Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air and space forces supporting a Unified Combatant Command . Unlike MAJCOMs, which have a management role, a NAF is a tactical organization with an operational focus, and does not have the same functional staff as a MAJCOM. Numbered air forces are typically commanded by a major general or a lieutenant general . Numeric designations for Numbered Air Forces are written in full using ordinal words (e.g., Eighth Air Force), while cardinal numerals are used in abbreviations (e.g., 8 AF). Units directly subordinate to
4559-427: The air and on the ground. Pacific Air Force/FEAF (Rear) controlled both operational and support forces of Far East Air Forces . Air Materiel Force, European Area, and Air Materiel Force, Pacific Area, on the other hand, served primarily as logistics support establishments. Since 2001 United States Air Forces Central has supervised U.S. Air Force elements engaged in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) ; since 2003 for
4656-577: The aircraft would fly attack profile missions at unexpected, random times and attempt to evade coverage by flying at low altitudes and randomly flying in different directions to confuse interceptors. The aircraft were modified to carry electronic countermeasures (ECM) gear to attempt to confuse radar operators. In 1957, the propeller-driven aircraft were phased out and replaced by Martin B-57 medium bombers which were being phased out of Tactical Air Command. Initially RB-57As from reconnaissance units were modified to have their former camera bays refitted to carry out
4753-465: The airfields controlled by Fourth Air Force. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the major metropolitan areas along the West Coast, using training units attached to the Wings. By 1944 the likelihood of a full-scale air attack along the West Coast since the bombing of Dutch Harbor two years earlier was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units. On 13 December 1944, First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were all placed under
4850-416: The annex of building P4. Operational BMEWS control of the Thule Site J RCA AN/FPS-50 Radar Sets transferred from RCA to ADC on 5 January 1962 ( the 12MWS activated in 1967.) By 30 June 1962, integration of ADC's BMEWS CC&DF and the SPADATS Center was completed at Ent AFB, and the Air Forces Iceland transferred from Military Air Transport Service to ADC on 1 July 1962. The 9th ADD established
4947-751: The catastrophic midwest floods and the California wildfires in 1993. Fourth Air Force units routinely support United Nations and Department of State missions. Fourth Air Force people were on the first teams into Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy, and supported Vigilant Warrior and Desert Thunder deployments to Southwest Asia. The men and women of Fourth Air Force continue to perform international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions on an almost daily basis. Headquarters Fourth Air Force officially returned to its original home, now March Air Reserve Base, in Riverside, CA, in April, 1998. In 2003 Fourth Air Force became an intermediate echelon responsible primarily for all Air Mobility Command gained AFRC air refueling units in
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#17327730624435044-486: The command of the four air districts – Northeast Air District , Northwest Air District , Southeast Air District , and Southwest Air District . The air districts were established on 16 January 1941, before the Pearl Harbor attack . The four air districts also handled USAAF combat training with the Army Ground Forces and "organization and training of bomber, fighter and other units and crews for assignments overseas". The air districts were redesignated on 26 March 1941 as
5141-399: The command was transferred to WADF, leaving Fourth AF free to focus on its reserve training tasks, which it did for the next decade. On 1 September 1960, Air Defense Command inactivated Fourth Air Force, transferring its reserve training mission to the Sixth Air Force Reserve Region. Fourth Air Force was re-activated on 20 January 1966 again at Hamilton AFB, as part of Air Defense Command with
5238-423: The current air defense system and transition to a new system which included an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), Over-the-Horizon Backscatter (OTH-B) radar, and an improved F-106 interceptor aircraft. The changing emphasis in the threat away from the manned bomber and to the ballistic missile brought reorganization and reduction in aerospace defense resources and personnel and almost continuous turmoil in
5335-599: The east and west coasts of North America and the central areas of the continent (e.g., Suffolk County Missile Annex was on Long Island, New York .) The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the world, and the longer range BOMARC B models required less time after erected until they could be launched. "Faker", or simulated target aircraft flew mock penetrations into air defense sectors to exercise GDI stations, Air Defense Direction Centers , and interceptor squadrons. Initially using modified B-25 Mitchell and B-29 Superfortress bombers,
5432-432: The first CIM-10 Bomarc supersonic surface-to-air missile to ADC during September 1959 at Fort Dix 's BOMARC Base No. 1 near the missile launch control center on McGuire AFB (groundbreaking for McGuire's Air Defense Direction Center to house the IBM AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central for Bomarc ground-controlled interception had been in 1957.) To ensure probability of kill before bombers could drop their weapons,
5529-419: The high-drag 45' banners but hits could still be scored on them. By 1960, the rocket firing interceptors were giving way to F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors firing heat-seeking AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles. This made the target towing mission of the B-57E obsolete, and the B-57Es were adapted to electronic countermeasures and faker target aircraft (EB-57E) (see below). In order to cover combat losses in
5626-416: The inactivation of its organization of Air Defense Sectors. Its area of responsibility was essentially unchanged from its 1948 region. Subordinate organizations assigned by ADC were the 25th 26th and 27th Air Divisions. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces. Fourth Air Force's second period of service
5723-529: The interceptor squadrons assigned to those bases. The 6th TTS was inactivated by late 1957 and the Canberra trainers were designated a flight of the 8th Bombardment Squadron at Johnson AB. In Europe, USAFE supported a squadron of B-57E gunnery trainers at Wheelus AB , Libya where European-based interceptors deployed for "live firing" over the vast desert range there. To provide challenges for interceptors, The B-57Es towed styrofoam, bomb-shaped radar reflectant targets. These could be towed at higher altitudes than
5820-409: The last half of the 1970s, but while some consideration was given to closing down the major command headquarters altogether and redistributing field resources to other commands, such a move lacked support in the Air Staff. In early 1977 strong Congressional pressure to reduce management "overhead", and the personal conviction of the USAF Chief of Staff that substantial savings could be realized without
5917-410: The last half of the year as low-altitude, unmanned gap-filler radars. The total consisted of 47 gap-filler stations, 75 Permanent System radars, 39 semimobile radars, 19 Pinetree stations ,…1 Lashup[-era] radar and a single Texas Tower ". After the NORAD agreement was signed on 12 May 1958, ADC became a NORAD component. By 30 June 1958, the planned ADC anti-ICBM processing facility to coordinate
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#17327730624436014-475: The latest ECM systems to confuse the defenders. Wing racks, originally designed for bombs, now carried chaff dispensers and the navigator position was replaced with an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO). The modified B-57s were designated as EB-57 (E for special electronic installation). Considerable realism would be generated into these simulated aggressor attack missions being flown by the B-57 crews. Often several EB-57s were used to form separate tracks and provide
6111-407: The major command (MAJCOM) to which they are currently assigned. Note that the lineage of some numbered air forces is continued by non-NAF organizations (e.g., the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force continues the lineage of the Fifteenth Air Force). Boldface indicates a NAF or C-NAF that is currently active. In May 2022, First Air Force was officially designated as "Air Forces Space" (AFSPACE),
6208-449: The management structure. The headquarters of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) and ADC were combined on 1 July 1973. Six months later in February 1973, ADC was reduced to 20 fighter squadrons and a complete phaseout of air defense missile batteries. Continental Air Command was disestablished on 1 July 1975 and Aerospace Defense Command became a specified command by direction of the JCS. Reductions and reorganizations continued into
6305-484: The nature of air-to-air weapon training requiring a large amount of air space, only a few locations were available for practice ranges. ADC assigned these aircraft to bases close to these large, restricted areas, and fighter-interceptor squadrons deployed to these bases for this type of "hot fire" training which took place in these ranges. The gunnery schools were located at Yuma AFB , Arizona ( 17th Tow Target Squadron (TTS)), and later moved to MacDill AFB , Florida where
6402-424: The newly established United States Air Force . The command become a subordinate organization of Continental Air Command (ConAC) on 1 December 1948. ConAC gradually assumed direct charge of ADC air defense components, and ADC inactivated on 1 July 1950. But five months later, on 10 November 1950, Generals Vandenberg and Twining notified General Ennis C. Whitehead that "the Air Force had approved activation of
6499-455: The operational wings and groups. Eleven of the sixteen wartime air forces remained. The Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces were assigned to SAC; the Third, Ninth, and Twelfth Air Forces were assigned to TAC; and the First, Second, Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Air Forces were assigned to ADC. Second Air Force would later be transferred to SAC in 1949. The numbered air forces had both operational and administrative authority, and existed as
6596-414: The pilot was overburdened by cockpit tasks. The F-89D was modified to accept AIM-4 Falcon guided missiles (F-89H) and AIR-2 Genie atomic warhead rockets (F-89J) as armament. The F-86D was modified (F-86L) to include an FDDL SAGE data link that permitted automatic ground control. The F-86L and F-89H became available in 1956, and the F-89J in 1957. The first of the Century Series supersonic interceptors
6693-480: The post-war CAF mission. For aircraft warning, in 1945 CAF had recommended "research and development be undertaken on radar and allied equipment for an air defense system [for] the future threat", e.g., a "radar [with] range of 1,000 miles, [to detect] at an altitude of 200 miles, and at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour". HQ AAF responded that "until the kind of defense needed to counter future attacks could be determined, AC&W planning would have to be restricted to
6790-529: The proposed system". (In the spring and summer of 1947, 3 ADC AC&W plans had gone unfunded. ) By 1948 there were only 5 AC&W stations, including the Twin Lights station in NJ that opened in June and Montauk NY "Air Warning Station #3 (5 July) -- cf. SAC radar stations , e.g., at Dallas & Denver Bomb Plots . ADC became a subordinate operational command of Continental Air Command on 1 December 1948 and on 27 June 1950, United States air defense systems began 24-hour operations two days after
6887-510: The replacement training of individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations. It received graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command flight schools; navigator training; flexible gunnery schools and various technical schools, organized them into newly activated combat groups and squadrons, and provided operational unit training (OTU) and replacement training (RTU) to prepare groups and replacements for deployment overseas to combat theaters. The Fourth Air Force became predominantly
6984-670: The residents of Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the traumatic and prolonged 1995 hurricane season. It supported immediate assistance to aid victims and disaster officials following the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. Fourth Air Force units provided assistance for several natural disasters, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake in the Los Angeles area, and
7081-533: The same Chidlaw Building where ADCOM had been inactivated. ADC had four day-type fighter squadrons (FDS) in 1946. The ADC interceptor force grew to ninety-three (93) active Air Force fighter interceptor squadrons, seventy-six (76) Air National Guard fighter interceptor squadrons, several U.S. Navy fighter squadrons, USAF and USN airborne early warning squadrons, radar squadrons, training squadrons, and numerous support units that have played important roles in our nation's defense. The first ADC interceptor,
7178-436: The same time clarifying the roles and responsibilities of essential supporting functions." Numbered air forces were reorganized into tactical echelons focused on operations, and their administrative staff functions were eliminated. This reorganization also reduced the number of major commands, and eliminated the air divisions to place numbered air forces directly in command of operational wings. The role of numbered air forces
7275-540: The start of the Korean War . By the time ADC was inactivated on 1 July 1950, ADC had deployed the Lashup Radar Network with existing radars at 43 sites. In addition, 36 Air National Guard fighter units were called to active duty for the mission. ADC was reinstated as a major command on 1 January 1951 at Mitchel Air Force Base , New York. A rudimentary command centre was established that year from
7372-464: The temporary 1962 " Cuban Missile Early Warning System " for the missile crisis . Responsibility for a USAFSS squadron's AN/FPS-17 radar station in Turkey for missile test monitoring transferred to ADC on 1 July 1963 , the same date the site's AN/FPS-79 achieved IOC. By January 1963, ADC's Detachment 3 of the 9th Aerospace Defense Division (9th ADD) was providing space surveillance data from
7469-916: The training continued over the Gulf of Mexico . With the move to Florida, the 3d TTS was formed at George AFB , California which performed training over the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Additional units were located at Biggs AFB , near El Paso, Texas (1st TTS) and the 4756th TTS was located at Tyndall AFB , Florida to support the Fighter Weapons Center located there. ADC also supported overseas training at Johnson AB , Japan (the 6th Tow Target Squadron). From Johnson AB, B-57Es deployed to Clark AB , Philippines; Andersen AFB , Guam, Naha AB , Okinawa and Itazuke AB , Misawa AB and Yokota AB , all in Japan for training of
7566-469: The transfer at CAF HQ in the expectation that 'it would become Air Defense Command.' CAF installations that were transferred to ADC included Mitchel Field (21 March 1946), Hamilton Army Airfield (21 March 1946), Myrtle Beach Army Air Field (27 March 1946), Shaw Field (1 April 1946), McChord Field (1 August 1946), Grandview Army Air Field (1 January 1952), Seymour Johnson Field (1 April 1956), and Tyndall Field (1 July 1957). Air Defense Command
7663-679: The unified command of the Continental Air Forces . In March 1946, USAAF Chief General Carl Spaatz had undertaken a major re-organization of the postwar USAAF that had included the establishment of Major Commands (MAJCOM), who would report directly to HQ United States Army Air Forces. Continental Air Forces was inactivated, and Fourth Air Force was assigned to the postwar Air Defense Command in March 1946 and subsequently to Continental Air Command (ConAC) in December 1948 being primarily concerned with air defense. The command
7760-692: The units under the inactivated Fourth Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 25th and 26th Air Divisions. The command remained inactive until 8 October 1976, when it was activated as Fourth Air Force (Reserve) at McClellan Air Force Base, CA, and assigned to the Air Force Reserve. Fourth Air Force has been a key component of the Air Force reserve ever since. Fourth Air Force personnel supported operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) and Panama (Operation Just Cause). More than 8,000 Air Force Reservists assigned to Fourth Air Force units served in
7857-513: The use of available radar sets ". CAF's January 1946 Radar Defense Report for Continental United States recommended military characteristics for a post-war Air Defense System "based upon such advanced equipment", and the HQ AAF Plans reminded "the command that radar defense planning had to be based on the available equipment." Reorganization of Continental Air Forces began in 1945, when ground radar and interceptor plans were prepared for
7954-581: Was "first conceived—and rejected—in 1946". A 1947 proposal for 411 radar stations and 18 control centers costing $ 600 million was the Project Supremacy plan for a postwar Radar Fence that was rejected by Air Defense Command since "no provision was made in it for the Alaska to Greenland net with flanks guarded by aircraft and picket ships [required] for 3 to 6 hours of warning time", and "Congress failed to act on legislation required to support
8051-585: Was "not cost effective" against ICBM warheads. —the Army Zeus deployed successors against ICBMs (SAFEGUARD System, 1975–6) and space vehicles ( Johnston Atoll, 1962–75 ). After tests of the 1959 High Virgo (at Explorer 5 ), 1959 Bold Orion ( Explorer 6 ), and 1963 Project 505 ( Nike Zeus ) anti-satellite tests (the latter's nuclear burst destroyed a satellite), the Air Force Systems Command ASM-135 ASAT collided with
8148-528: Was a component of the unified Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) along with the Army's ARAACOM (1957 ARADCOM) and until 1965, the Navy's NAVFORCONAD . The USAF as the executive CONAD agent initially used ADC's: ADC'a Permanent System radar stations were used for CONAD target data, along with Navy picket ships ( Atlantic and Pacific Barrier until 1965) and Army Project Nike "target acquisition radars". A CONAD reorganization that started in 1956 created
8245-526: Was activated on 21 March 1946 with the former CAF Fourth Air Force, the inactive Tenth Air Force , and the tbd's Fourteenth Air Force . Second Air Force was reactivated and added on 6 June 1946. In December 1946 the "Development of Radar Equipment for Detecting and Countering Missiles of the German A-4 type " was planned, part of the Signal Corps ' Project 414A . The Distant Early Warning Line
8342-578: Was again changed in 2006 with the implementation of the Component Air Force (C-NAF) concept. Some numbered air forces have an additional mission as the Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air and space forces supporting a Unified Combatant Command . C-NAFs have a second designation to identify their role. For example, First Air Force , a numbered air force assigned to Air Combat Command ,
8439-539: Was anticipated. However, by mid-1959, the Air Force was already beginning to experience some doubts about the high cost of the Rapier program. The primary strategic threat from the Soviet Union was now perceived to be its battery of intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of its force of long-range bombers. Against intercontinental ballistic missiles, the F-108A interceptor would be completely useless. In addition,
8536-650: Was built as an austere network center (instead of for coordinating anti-ICBM fire) which "at midnight on 30 September I960…achieved initial operational capability " (IOC). On 1 July 1961 for space surveillance, ADC took over the Laredo Test Site and the Trinidad Air Station from Rome Air Development Center . The " 1st Aero" cadre at the Hanscom AFB NSSCC moved 496L System operations in July 1961 to Ent's " SPADATS Center" in
8633-495: Was established in 1946, briefly inactivated in 1950, reactivated in 1951, and then redesignated Aerospace rather than Air in 1968. Its mission was to provide air defense of the Continental United States (CONUS). It directly controlled all active measures, and was tasked to coordinate all passive means of air defense. Continental United States air defense forces during World War II were initially under
8730-677: Was headquartered at Hamilton AFB , California and originally assigned the region of the CONUS west of the Rocky Mountains , roughly from the Pacific Ocean coast east to the eastern borders of, and . It was also responsible for training Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard personnel throughout the region. By 1949 with the establishment of the Western Air Defense Force (WADF), the air defense mission of
8827-474: Was intended to serve as a long-range interceptor that could destroy attacking Soviet bombers over the poles before they could get near US territory. It was also to serve as the escort fighter for the XB-70 Valkyrie Mach-3 strategic bomber, also to be built by North American. The Air Force expected that the first F-108A would be ready for service by early 1963. An order for no less than 480 F-108s
8924-701: Was placed on two jet-powered interceptors, the XP-87 Blackhawk and the XP-89 Scorpion . (Designations changed to XF-87 and XF-89.) They, in turn, also proved to be inadequate: the XF-87 was cancelled and the Scorpion underwent extensive redesign. The first-generation jets gave way to all-weather dedicated interceptor jets. The F-94 Starfire was pressed into service as an "interim" interceptor, and North American in 1949 pushed an interceptor version of
9021-424: Was set to begin in April 1967 at Z-50, Saratoga Springs".) As the space mission grew the command changed its name, effective 15 January 1968, to Aerospace Defense Command , or ADCOM. Under ADCOM, emphasis went to systems for ballistic missile detection and warning and space surveillance, and the atmospheric detection and warning system, which had been in an almost continuous state of expansion and improvement since
9118-503: Was short-lived, however, and the command was again inactivated as the result of a major ADCOM reorganization on 31 December 1969 of the First Fourth, Tenth Air Forces and several Air Divisions. This reorganization was the result of the need to eliminate intermediate levels of command in ADCOM driven by budget reductions and a perceived lessening of the need for continental air defense against attacking Soviet aircraft. ADCOM reassigned
9215-542: Was stationed for training in the Northeast. The 4713th also deployed frequently to USAFE in West Germany for training of NATO forces. The other was the 4677th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron , which concentrated on Fighter Interceptor Squadron training for units in the Western United States. In 1974, the 4713th DSES was inactivated and its EB-57s were divided between two Air National Guard units and
9312-658: Was the 10th Fighter Wing at Hamilton Field , California. On 29 September 1942, Rice Municipal Airport located in the Desert Training Center was acquired by the IV Air Support Command, and was operational by 26 October 1942. Re-designated Rice AAF it was used to train pilots and crews of aircraft whose mission it was to support ground troops. Beginning in May 1942, the mission of Fourth Air Force became operational training of units and crews, and
9409-651: Was the F-102A Delta Dagger in 1956, followed by the F-104A Starfighter in 1958. The F-101B Voodoo and F-106 Delta Dart were first received by ADC during the first half of 1959. By 1960, the ADC interceptor force was composed of the F-101, F-104, F-106, and the F-102. The North American F-108 Rapier was the first proposed successor to the F-106. It was to be capable of Mach 3 performance and
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