78-581: The 1st Combat Evaluation Group (initially "1CEG", later "1CEVG") was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit . It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group that had originated from the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit which transferred from 15th AF to directly under Strategic Air Command c. 1946 . The 1CEVG formed after SAC switched to low-level tactics to counter Soviet surface-to-air missiles ("Oil Burner" training routes in 1959) and SAC had "developed
156-677: A 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron RB-50 returned fire on a Soviet MiG-15, while a 343d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron RB-50 was shot down over the Sea of Japan 2 days after the Korean Armistice, while on 7 November 1954, an RB-29 was shot down near Hokkaido Island in northern Japan. By the time of 27 July 1953 Korean War cease-fire, SAC B-29s had flown over 21,000 sorties and dropped nearly 167,000 tons of bombs, with thirty-four B-29s lost in combat and forty-eight B-29s were lost to damage or crashes. SAC's first jet strategic bomber
234-657: A bomber gap grew after the 1955 Soviet Aviation Day and the Soviets rejected the " Open Skies " Treaty proposed at the Geneva Summit on 21 July 1955. US bomber strength peaked with "over 2,500 bombers" after production "of over 2,000 B-47s and almost 750 B-52s" (circa 1956, 50% of SAC aircraft & 80% of SAC bombers were B-47s). In an effort to concurrently enhance its reconnaissance capabilities, SAC also received several RB-57D Canberra aircraft in April 1956 , with
312-585: A "scathing" 1948 Lindbergh review of SAC operations in the air and at six SAC bases, General Kenney was removed as Commanding General on 15 October 1948 and replaced on 19 October 1948 by 8AF's commander, Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay . Upon LeMay's assumption of command, SAC had only 60 nuclear-capable aircraft, none of which possessed a realistic long range capability against the Soviet Union. LeMay proposed that SAC should be able to deliver 80% of its weapons in one mission. The B-29D, which had become
390-595: A Command Instrument Flight Division and an RBS Division with 3 squadrons. The Radar Bomb Scoring Division controlled the group's Radar Bomb Scoring units. As with the preceding 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group at Carswell AFB , the division had 3 Radar Bomb Scoring Squadrons (10th, 11th, 12th ) with RBS detachments at fixed radar stations and at semi-mobile radar stations (Mobile Duty Locations (MDLs)). The MDLs were set up for SAC special missions, with their equipment, trailers, books, etc., stored at Barksdale AFB when not in use. Each squadron manned an RBS Express train, but
468-485: A Radar Bomb Scoring field kit for use in NIKE Systems " in early 1960 for scoring SAC training missions against US Hercules SAM sites. The 1CEVG headquarters included an Office of History and a "standardization and evaluation school" for command examiners. The 1CEVG deputy commander for standardization and evaluation was responsible for performance assessment of SAC tanker and bomber flight crews. 1CEVG also evaluated
546-753: A SAC numbered air force permanently stationed in Europe, having tactical and administrative control of the forward-deployed aircraft and units. Beginning in 1955, SAC also moved a portion of its bomber and aerial refueling aircraft to 24-hour alert status, either on the ground or airborne. By 1960, fully one third of SAC's bombers and aerial refueling aircraft were on 24-hour alert, with those crews and aircraft not already airborne ready to take off from designated alert sites at their respective bases within fifteen minutes. Bomber aircraft on ground alert were armed with nuclear weapons while aerial tanker aircraft were sufficiently fueled to provide maximum combat fuel offload to
624-536: A SAC Detachment (TUSLOG Det 50) operated at Incirlik AB , Turkey, monitoring Soviet missile telemetry from the Kapustin Yar and Tyuratam launch complexes. In 1959-60, SAC evaluated deploying Minuteman I ICBMs via civilian railroad tracks on USAF-operated locomotives and trains . President Eisenhower approved the first Atlas ICBM launch by a SAC crew for 9 September 1959 at Vandenberg AFB. Electronic Systems Division The Electronic Systems Center
702-501: A SAC Liaison Team was also located at the NORAD Command Post at Ent AFB , Colorado, and the two commands agreed that direct land line communications should connect SAC bases with NORAD's Air Defense Direction Centers . Also in the late 1950s, SAC continued to enhance its intelligence collection activities and develop innovative means of improving the survivability of its forces to surprise attack. From 1958 to about 1967,
780-729: A command and morale plummeted. As a result, by the end of 1947, only two of SAC's eleven groups were combat ready. After the 1948 Bikini Atoll nuclear tests, the "Half Moon" Joint Emergency War Plan developed in May 1948 proposed dropping 50 atomic bombs on twenty Soviet cities, with President Harry S. Truman approving "Half Moon" during the June 1948 Berlin Blockade , (Truman sent B-29s to Europe in July). SAC also ordered special ELINT RB-29s to detect improved Soviet radars and, in cooperation with
858-655: A lower echelon, SAC headquarters divisions included Aircraft Engineering, Missile Concept, and Strategic Communications. In 1992, as part of an overall post-Cold War reorganization of the U.S. Air Force, SAC was disestablished as both a Specified Command and as a MAJCOM , and its personnel and equipment redistributed among the Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and Air Education and Training Command (AETC), while SAC's central headquarters complex at Offutt AFB , Nebraska
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#1732797800249936-634: A new SAC installation specifically designed to accommodate the B-36 Peacemaker . Fort Dix AAF , New Jersey (later McGuire AFB ); Spokane AAF , Washington (later Fairchild AFB ); and Wendover Field , Utah (later Wendover AFB ) were also transferred to SAC between 30 April and 1 September 1947. Following the establishment of the USAF as a separate service, SAC bases in the United States consisted of: Those bases subsequently added to SAC in
1014-587: A prototype study and testing of the new Threat Reaction Analysis Indicator System (TRAINS) for analyzing how aircrews and avionics reacted to ground-based threats. At the end of the Cold War , most RBS detachments were closed. The personnel and the assets of the RBS Division became the 1st Electronic Combat Range Group on 1 July 1989 when the 1CEVG was split, and other 1CEVG organizations transferred to SAC headquarters. Bismarck, ND Detachment 7, 1 CEVG
1092-754: A second wave of defense efforts—the construction of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) and a survivable new command center for the North American Air Defense Command in the underground Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. New weapons systems and space platforms led to enlarged ESD C3 programs. ESD’s first radar systems were ground-based, but in the 1960s, the organization expanded into airborne radar systems. In overcoming
1170-558: A tenant activity until assuming control of Andrews Field in October 1946. SAC initially totaled 37,000 USAAF personnel. In addition to Bolling Field and, seven months later, Andrews Field, SAC also assumed responsibility for: SAC also had seven additional CAF bases transferred on 21 March 1946 which remained in SAC through the 1947 establishment of the U.S. Air Force as an independent service. Those installations included: On 31 March 1946,
1248-693: The AN/TPB-1C Course Directing Central . The Electronic Systems Division 806L "Range Threat" systems for electronic warfare simulation were developed for use by 1CEVG late in the Cold War . Such systems included the US Dynamics AN/MST-T1 Miniature-Multiple Threat Emitter Simulator (MUTES), for which the group evaluated the prototype in 1977 (operational in October 1978). Similarly, TLQ-11 jammer improvements were in 1978, and in 1979 1CEVG members completed
1326-627: The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) and the Air Armament Center (AAC), will be consolidated into the new Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (LCMC). This, along with other measures, will save up to $ 109 million for the Air Force annually. The new LCMC will be headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB . The highest-ranking officer at Hanscom AFB after the reorganization will be a major general, who will be
1404-800: The Air Force Systems Command and the Air Force Logistics Command were merged to form the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). ESD was re-designated the Electronic Systems Center (ESC), and the organization was placed under the new AFMC. Two years later, ESC was enlarged to become the AFMC Center of Excellence for Command and Control, with headquarters at Hanscom. Several geographically separated units were added to
1482-822: The Air University , and the Air Force Center . Strategic Air Command was originally established in the U.S. Army Air Forces on 21 March 1946 upon the redesignation of Continental Air Forces (CAF), the World War II command tasked with the air defense of the continental United States (CONUS). At the time, CAF headquarters was located at Bolling Field (later Bolling AFB ) in the District of Columbia and SAC assumed occupancy of its headquarters facilities until relocating SAC headquarters (HQ SAC) to nearby Andrews Field (later Andrews AFB ), Maryland as
1560-600: The B-50 in December 1945, was first delivered to SAC in June 1948. This was followed by SAC's first Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber arriving at Kirtland AFB , New Mexico in September 1948. In November 1948, LeMay had SAC's headquarters and its command post moved from Andrews AFB , Maryland to Offutt AFB , Nebraska. At Offutt, the command moved into the "A Building", a three-story facility that had previously been used by
1638-781: The Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), developed in the 1970s, and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS), developed in the 1980s. The Electronic Systems Center served into five decades as the Air Force's organization for developing and acquiring Command and Control (C2) systems. As of December 2004, ESC managed approximately two hundred programs ranging from secure communications systems to mission planning systems. ESC had an annual budget of over $ 3 billion and more than eighty-seven hundred personnel. In addition to
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#17327978002491716-907: The C-45 Expeditor support aircraft, but by 1947 SAC had acquired an F-9C squadron consisting of twelve photo-reconnaissance variants of the B-17G Flying Fortress . An F-13 squadron, the F-13 later re-designated as the RB-29 Superfortress , was also established. SAC conducted routine aerial reconnaissance missions near the Soviet borders or near the 12-mile international waters limit, although some missions actually penetrated into Soviet airspace. The flight profiles of these missions—above 30,000 feet and in excess of 300 knots—made interception by Soviet air forces difficult until
1794-526: The DMZ , six 1CEVG technicians were killed while conducting a preliminary site location survey. Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992. SAC
1872-751: The Glenn L. Martin Company during World War II. Concurrent with the establishment of this new headquarters facility, Lemay also increased SAC Radar Bomb Scoring (RBS) runs the same year to 12,084. SAC also enhanced its organic fighter escort capability by initiating replacement of its World War II vintage piston-engine F-51D Mustang and F-82E Twin Mustang fighter aircraft with F-84G Thunderjets . In January 1949, SAC conducted simulated raids on Wright-Patterson AFB , Ohio. Assessments of these simulated raids by "...LeMay's entire command...were appalling", despite
1950-630: The MITRE Corporation (1958) had worked to bring the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system to completion. The pioneering integrated radar and computer technology that was developed for SAGE also contributed significantly to the development of air traffic control systems. ESD had an original portfolio of thirteen Command, Control and Communications (C3) systems. The appearance of ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads spurred
2028-610: The Program Executive Officer for the C3I and Networks AFPEO. The main purpose of the reorganization is to eliminate excess headquarter and staff type positions throughout AFMC. The ESC deactivation ceremony took place on 16 July 2012 and from that point forward Hanscom AFB was part of the AFLCMC. Fort Franklin ( 42°28′22″N 71°18′12″W / 42.4729°N 71.3033°W / 42.4729; -71.3033 )
2106-675: The RC-135 units at Eielson, Kadena, and Offutt, the flight crew standardization of the U-2 , the DC-130 reconnaissance drone program, CH-3 helicopter drone recovery program, [and] the SR-71 program at Beale AFB . The Fairchild Trophy was Strategic Air Command 's top Bombardment Award, for which the Group administered flight checks and evaluated standardization and training activities. 1CEVG included
2184-732: The VIII Bomber Command , which conducted the first European "heavy bomber" attack by the USAAF on 17 August 1942 ; the Ninth Air Force , which conducted the first Operation Crossbow "No-Ball" missions on 5 December 1943; the Twelfth Air Force ; and the Fifteenth Air Force , which executed bombing operations on 2 November 1943 during Operation Pointblank . The Operation Overlord air plan for
2262-466: The Vietnam War ended, the annual Combat Skyspot trophy was awarded for the outstanding RBS detachment (e.g., Louis Blotner Radar Bomb Scoring Site (Ashland Det 7) in 1985). The squadrons initially used Matador Automatic Radar Control (AN/MSQ-1) and AN/MSQ-2 automatic tracking radar/computer systems. The Reeves AN/MSQ-35 Bomb Scoring Central was developed for the division (mid-1963 testing
2340-667: The 1957 Gaither Commission identified, "...little likelihood of SAC's bombers surviving [a Soviet first strike] since there was no way to detect an incoming attack until the first [Soviet nuclear weapon] warhead landed." As a result, SAC's bombers and tankers began sitting armed ground alert at their respective bases on 1 Oct 57. In another organizational change during this time period, SAC's fighter escort wings were transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC) during 1957 and 1958. Finally, during January 1958's Exercise Fir Fly , SAC "faker" aircraft (twelve B-47s) simulated bombing strikes against metropolitan areas and military installations in
2418-427: The 51st Air Force Base Unit, SAC also monitored radioactive fallout from Soviet atomic testing on Novaya Zemlya . In terms of overall Air Force basing and infrastructure, SAC continued to acquire an ever-increasing share of USAF infrastructure and the USAF associated budget. In 1947, before the USAF was established as an independent service, construction commenced on Limestone AAF , Maine (later renamed Loring AFB ),
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2496-436: The A Building at Offutt AFB to Building 500 in 1957. The underground nuclear bunker had 24-inch thick walls and base floor, 10-inch thick intermediate floors, and 24-to-42-inch thick roof. It also contained a war room with six 16-foot data display screens and the capacity to sustain up to 800 people underground for two weeks. The below ground bunker portion of the headquarters complex also contained an IBM 704 computer, which
2574-847: The Air Force, ESC works with other branches of the United States Department of Defense , the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and foreign governments. Due to AFMC restructuring ESC was inactivated on 1 October 2012. ESC was originally activated as
2652-948: The Air Staff to allow SAC to approve nuclear targets, and he continued refusing to submit war plans for JCS review, which the JCS eventually came to accept (of 20,000 candidates in 1960, SAC designated 3,560 as bombing targets—mostly Soviet air defense: airfields and suspected missile sites.) Although experimented with prior to World War II, SAC refined aerial refueling to a fine art. SAC's in-flight refueling mission began in July 1952 when its 31st Fighter-Escort Wing refueled sixty F-84G Thunderjets from Turner AFB , Georgia to Travis AFB , California non-stop with fuel from twenty-four KB-29P Superfortresses modified into aerial tankers. Exercise FOX PETER ONE followed with 31st FEW fighters being refueled Hickam AFB en route to Hawaii. On 15 March 1953,
2730-610: The Baltic. Since it was designed as a medium bomber, SAC's B-47 Stratojet traded speed for range. Because of this shorter range, and in order to better enable the B-47 fleet to reach its target sets in the Soviet Union, SAC routinely deployed its US-based B-47 wings to overseas forward operating bases in North Africa, Spain and Turkey. This program, in effect from 1957 to 1966, was known as "Reflex" with Sixteenth Air Force (16AF),
2808-469: The ESC. ESC was the home of most of the new command and control technologies being sent to the war, but was getting a bad reputation for the lack of quality in the systems sent to the war. He decided to hold a technical exercise to emulate a deployed headquarters using the equipment ESC was producing, and test the reports. The technical exercise went live in July 1994. The encampment used a patch of grass near
2886-738: The Electronic Systems Division (ESD) on 1 April 1961 at Laurence G. Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA . ESD was placed under the newly established Air Force Systems Command . The Electronic Systems Division had emerged after a decade of efforts to meet a major post-war threat to the North American continent—attack by long-range, nuclear-armed bombers. At Hanscom Field, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ’s new Lincoln Laboratory (1951) and later
2964-602: The SAC deputy commander, Major General McMullen, having instructed all bomber units to improve their effectiveness. To motivate crews and improve operational effectiveness command-wide, SAC established a competition, the first so-called "Bomb Comp" in 1948. Winners of this inaugural event were the 43rd Bombardment Group (unit) and, for aircrew award, a B-29 team from the 509th Bombardment Group . Given its global operating environment, SAC also opened its own survival school at Camp Carson , Colorado in 1949, later moving this school to Stead AFB , Nevada in 1952 before transferring
3042-791: The Soviet's 1948 introduction of the MiG-15 jet fighter. Project Nanook , the Cold War's first Top Secret reconnaissance effort, used the first RB-29 missions for mapping and visual reconnaissance in the Arctic and along the northern Soviet coast. Later missions were Project LEOPARD along the Chukchi Peninsula , followed by Projects RICKRACK, STONEWORK, and COVERALLS. In 1946, the US possessed only nine atomic bombs and twenty-seven B-29s capable at any one time of delivering them. Furthermore, it
3120-417: The United States included: In addition to bases under its operational control, SAC also maintained tenant wings at several bases under the control of other USAF MAJCOMs. These non-SAC bases with SAC tenants included: SAC also often maintained a tenant presence at former SAC bases that the command subsequently transferred and relinquished to other MAJCOMs, to include but not limited to: SAC transferred to
3198-479: The United States Air Force on 26 September 1947, concurrent with the latter's establishment as a separate military service. Units directly under SAC HQ included the 8AF and 15AF, as well as the 311th Air Division , 4th Fighter Wing , 82nd Fighter Wing , 307th Bomb Wing , and two reconnaissance units, the 311th Reconnaissance Wing and the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron . The 56th Fighter Wing
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3276-682: The United States defended by Air Defense Command's 28th Air Division . After SAC's 1st Missile Division was activated on 18 March 1957, SAC HQ established the Office of Assistant CINCSAC (SAC MIKE) at the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in California on 1 January 1958. SAC MIKE was responsible for missile development liaison, the intermediate range Jupiter and Thor missiles having been transferred to SAC for alert in 1958. Beginning on 1 February 1958,
3354-715: The United States during World War II included General Carl Spaatz 's European command, United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF), consisting of the 8AF and 15AF, and the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF) and its Twentieth Air Force (20AF). The U.S. Army Air Forces ' first mission in the Strategic Bombing Campaign in the European Theater during World War II included
3432-559: The United States. This format would continue through successive SAC Bombing and Navigation Competitions through the remainder of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Commencing in the late 1950s, in addition to representation from every SAC wing with a bombing and/or air refueling mission, later SAC competitions would also include participating bomber and aerial refueling units from the Royal Air Force 's Bomber Command and (after 30 April 1968) its successor, RAF Strike Command . It
3510-646: The [deterrence] stick". Initial SAC B-29 successes against North Korea in the summer of 1950 were countered by subsequent Soviet MiG-15 fighter-interceptors, and SAC's 27th Fighter Escort Wing began escorting the bombers with F–84 Thunderjets. Ground-directed bombing (GDB) was subsequently used for close air support (CAS) missions after three SAC radar bomb scoring (RBS) squadron detachments (Dets C, K, & N) arrived at Pusan in September 1950. In 1951, SAC "began to eliminate its combat groups", transferring medium bombardment groups "to Far East Air Forces (FEAF) Bomber Command for combat." In 1951, LeMay convinced
3588-522: The aircraft initially based at Turner AFB , Georgia. In 1957, these aircraft were forward deployed to Rhein-Main Air Base , West Germany, in order to conduct reconnaissance missions along the borders of the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations. However, an unintended consequence of this deployment was that Hawker Hunter fighters of the Royal Air Force stationed in the United Kingdom and in continental Europe often intercepted these classified RB-57 missions as they returned to Rhein-Main AB from over
3666-612: The bombers. Concurrent with this increased alert posture and in order to better hone strategic bombing skillsets, the 1955 SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition was characterized by radar bomb scoring (RBS) runs on Amarillo, Denver , Salt Lake City, Kansas City, San Antonio and Phoenix; and the 1957 competition (nicknamed "Operation Longshot") had three targets: Atlanta , Kansas City, and St. Louis. This use of RBS with simulated target areas utilizing mobile and fixed bomb scoring sites adjacent to major cities, industrial areas, military installations and dedicated bombing ranges throughout
3744-421: The center. At one time, the 66th Air Base Wing , 350th Electronic Systems Wing , 551st Electronic Systems Wing , 554th Electronic Systems Wing , and 653d Electronic Systems Wing all reported to the ESC Commander. Since the later years of the Cold War , ESC worked to upgrade its key radar , command center, and communications systems. The decade of the 1990s presented new challenges for the expanded Center in
3822-423: The development of network-centric warfare and provide an asymmetric force advantage. The ESC pursued a major initiative to standardize and upgrade C2ISR capabilities at Air Operations Centers , with the goal of realizing the Aerospace Operations Center of the future. Due to a major AFMC restructuring announced on 2 November 2011, ESC was to be inactivated no later than 1 October 2012. The role of ESC, along with
3900-465: The end of the runway . Using tents, trailers, and communication vans inside a guarded perimeter, the area was quickly dubbed “Fort Franklin.” It was staffed by engineers from every program office and a few junior military. Major Steve Zenishek, with recent Gulf War experience, became the installation “commander” and was able to show off that the great capability indeed worked fine alone, but unfortunately didn't work well with others. Rather than take
3978-442: The expertise that had created this success, LtGen Franklin established an ongoing experimentation facility at Hanscom known as the Command & Control (C2) Unified Development Environment (CUBE). CUBE was later renamed the C2 Engineering and Integration Facility (CEIF). The experience of Fort Franklin was instrumental in development in 1997 of the Air Force's major experiment, the Expeditionary Force Experiment (EFX 98), which became
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#17327978002494056-442: The failure as a defeat, General Franklin used it to encourage the staff to rebuild the systems under development to interoperate . Subsequently, by the time the second Fort Franklin occurred on 1–16 May 1995, the systems were beginning to communicate. For the first time, the results of calculations performed by one system were transferred automatically to another system for further interpretation or processing. Not wanting to lose
4134-403: The fall of 1945, with the Simpson Board tasked to plan, "...the reorganization of the Army and the Air Force...". In January 1946, Generals Eisenhower and Spaatz agreed on an Air Force organization composed of the Strategic Air Command, the Air Defense Command , the Tactical Air Command , the Air Transport Command and the supporting Air Technical Service Command , Air Training Command ,
4212-445: The focus of the nation's nuclear strike capability, to the extent that Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Publication 1259/27 on 12 December 1946 identified that, "...the 'air atomic' strategic air force should only come under the orders of the JCS." In addition to the strategic bombing mission, SAC also devoted significant resources to aerial reconnaissance. In 1946, SAC's reconnaissance aircraft inventory consisted of F-2 photo variants of
4290-453: The following additional installation was also assigned to SAC: Under the first SAC Commander in Chief , General George C. Kenney , initial units reporting to the Strategic Air Command headquarters on 21 March 1946 included the Second Air Force , the IX Troop Carrier Command and the 73d Air Division . Fifteenth Air Force was assigned to SAC on 31 March (15th AF's 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit —with SAC's radar detachments —transferred
4368-445: The form of regional conflicts, joint and coalition engagements, terrorism, and asymmetric warfare . In response, ESC developed programs to work towards integration and interoperability in C2 systems. By presenting systems in action via several interactive C2 demonstrations, ESC engaged in ongoing dialogue with its customers. The Center then undertook a major restructure of its acquisition processes starting in 1996. “ Spiral development ”
4446-418: The insertion of new C2 and information technology. At the same time, its work on standardizing C2 infrastructure and creating architectures laid the groundwork for further system integration. In 2001, the Air Force gave ESC the lead responsibility to integrate its command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems—the C2 Enterprise Integration. Integrated C2ISR capabilities will enable
4524-421: The postwar Army Air Forces. Radar Bomb Scoring became the preferred method of evaluating bomber crews, with the last of 888 simulated bomb runs scored against a bombing site near San Diego , California during 1946, subsequently increasing to 2,449 bomb runs by 1947. In the wake of the successful employment of air-dropped nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki to effectively end World War II, SAC became
4602-448: The same date directly under HQ SAC ), while the IX Troop Carrier Command was inactivated the same date and its assets redistributed within SAC. With postwar demobilization still underway, eight of the ten assigned bomb groups were inactivated before the Eighth Air Force was assigned to SAC on 7 June 1946. Despite the pressures of demobilization, SAC continued the training and evaluation of bomber crews and units still on active duty in
4680-415: The school to the Air Training Command in 1954. SAC also created Emergency War Plan 1–49 (EWP 1–49), which outlined the means for delivering 133 atomic bombs, "...the entire stockpile...in a single massive attack..." on 70 Soviet cities over a 30-day period. The first Soviet atomic bomb test occurred on 29 August 1949 and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) subsequently identified SAC's primary objective
4758-421: The squadrons were inactivated in 1966 after Vietnam War deployments had begun. The three squadrons in 1959 had 29 AUTOTRACK sites . 1CEVG temporary duty personnel at Nike Defense Areas also scored mock SAC raids tracked by the Army. RBS trains were inactivated later in the war after the 1968-9 Project 693 discharging 1st term SAC airmen up to 11 months early. The division included a maintenance office. After
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#17327978002494836-444: The strategic bombing of both Germany and German military forces in continental Europe prior to the 1944 invasion of France used several Air Forces, primarily those of the USAAF and those of the Royal Air Force ( RAF ), with the command of air operations transferring to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force on 14 April 1944. Planning to reorganize for a separate and independent postwar U.S. Air Force had begun by
4914-622: The “ground clutter” problem, the 1970s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) represented a technological achievement for airspace surveillance. It was joined in the later 1980s by the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). While still under development, Joint STARS was pressed into service for the Gulf War to monitor movement on the battlefield. Other ESD programs focused on creating secure communications systems, air defense systems for allied nations, command centers, intelligence data transmission, air traffic control systems, and computer-based training systems. In 1992,
4992-446: Was a Matagorda Island Air Force Base radar site for the "Busy Skyspot" training program for automatic tracking radar crews to use the Reeves AN/MSQ-77 Bomb Directing Central before transferring to Vietnam War operating locations. A CONUS AN/MSQ-77 had initially been used at the mountainous Nellis Air Force Range before being moved to the Gulf Coast of the United States , then the detachment moved to Bergstrom Air Force Base and
5070-507: Was a product center of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base , Massachusetts. Its mission was to develop and acquire command and control , communications, computer, and intelligence systems. ESC consisted of professional teams specializing in engineering , computer science , and business management . The teams supervised the design, development, testing, production, and deployment of command and control systems. Two of ESC's most well-known developments were
5148-455: Was a sub-post of nearby Westover AFB . A 3-story nuclear bunker located on Bare Mountain, Massachusetts , The Notch was built with three-foot thick walls, 1.5 foot thick steel blast doors, and 20 feet underground to protect 350 people for 35 days. The Notch was shut down as a SAC facility in 1970 when 8th Air Force was relocated to Barksdale AFB , Louisiana. Despite this investment in "hardened" headquarters and command and control facilities,
5226-437: Was also responsible for strategic reconnaissance aircraft ; airborne command posts; and most of the USAF's aerial refueling aircraft. SAC primarily consisted of the Second Air Force (2AF), Eighth Air Force (8AF) and the Fifteenth Air Force (15AF), while SAC headquarters (HQ SAC) included Directorates for Operations & Plans, Intelligence, Command & Control, Maintenance, Training, Communications, and Personnel. At
5304-461: Was an on-base encampment in the 1990s used for the purpose of testing new technology. The ESC had developed many of the radars and sensors used by military aircraft , and had created many of the command and control systems. However, when these systems were deployed for Operation Desert Storm , many did not work as advertised or communicate information to one another. In October 1993, Lieutenant General Charles E. Franklin took over as Commander of
5382-442: Was at the White Sands Missile Range .) During the Vietnam War , the Statesboro Bomb Scoring Site used a Soviet T2A for training crews to jam the signal. Three US bombing systems developed during the war ( AN/MSQ-77 , AN/TSQ-81 , & AN/TSQ-96 ) were used post-war in the United States by the RBS Division, which replaced them with the c. 1980 solid-state US Dynamics AN/TPQ-43 Bomb Scoring Set (SEEK SCORE) developed from
5460-431: Was concurrently transferred to the newly created United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), which was established as a joint Unified Combatant Command to replace SAC's Specified Command role. In 2009, SAC was reactivated and redesignated as the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). AFGSC eventually acquired all USAF bomber aircraft and the intercontinental ballistic missile force. The Strategic Air Forces of
5538-408: Was described as the "Western Pentagon," specifically a, "...four-story, reinforced concrete and masonry office building..." above ground and a "...segregated, adjacent three-story below ground command post." This was the description of what would become Building 500 at Offutt AFB and the new headquarters complex built expressly for SAC, with construction commencing in 1955. SAC headquarters moved from
5616-482: Was introduced to achieve state-of-the-art systems in a timely, flexible, and cost-effective approach. The pace of these initiatives had gained momentum by the start of the 21st century. The ESC developed automated systems for Air Tasking Orders , weather, mission planning, and management information, together with enhanced force protection for Air Force personnel on the ground. For the series of Joint Expeditionary Force Experiments (JEFX) starting in 1998, ESC managed
5694-554: Was later determined that an attack by the 509th Composite Bomb Group during the 1947 to 1948 time frame would have required at least five to six days just to transfer custody of the bombs from United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) sites to SAC and deploy the aircraft and weapons to forward operating bases before launching nuclear strikes. Postwar budget and personnel cuts had an insidious effect on SAC as its Deputy Commander, Major General Clements McMullen, implemented mandated force reductions. This continued to wear down SAC as
5772-704: Was redesignated Det 50 for long range tracking of bombers on 2 Matagorda Island Air Force Range routes (low- and high-level). On 29 February 1968, on the low-level Matagorda route a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashed into the Gulf of Mexico . Detachment 15, 1CEVG at the Vietnam War 's Tan Son Nhut Air Base served as an "administrative link between [the operating locations] and Headquarters 1st Combat Evaluation Group" after Reeves AN/MSQ-77 Bomb Directing Centrals were produced and deployed in 1965 for Combat Skyspot bomber operations by tactical fighter, B-52, and other units. On 5 June 1966 near Đông Hà Combat Base close to
5850-451: Was subsequently assigned to SAC on 1 October 1947. Following the establishment of the U.S. Air Force, most SAC installations on U.S. territory were renamed as "Air Force Base" during late 1947 and into 1948, while non-U.S. installations were renamed as "Air Base". In May 1948, in an exercise versus Air Defense Command 's "Blue" force, a SAC "Red" strike force simulated attacks on Eastern Seaboard targets as far south as Virginia. After
5928-461: Was the swept-wing B-47 medium bomber, which first entered service in 1951 and became operational within SAC in 1953. The B-47 was a component of the October 1953 New Look strategy, which articulated, in part, that: " ...to minimize the threat ...the major purpose of air defense was not to shoot down enemy bombers—it was to allow SAC ...to get into the air [--and] not be destroyed on the ground [--to allow] massive retaliation ." Concern of
6006-664: Was to damage or destroy the Soviet Union's ability to deliver nuclear weapons. The JCS further defined SAC's secondary objective was to stop any Soviet advances into Western Europe, and its tertiary objective was the previous EWP 1–49 industrial mission. In July 1950, in response to combat operations on the Korean peninsula, SAC dispatched ten nuclear-capable bombers to Guam and deployed four B-29 bomber wings in Korea for tactical operations, although this action caused SAC commander LeMay to comment "...too many splinters were being whittled off
6084-501: Was used to develop monthly weather forecasts at targets, as well as for computing fuel consumption and fallout cloud patterns for planning strike routes and egress routes (e.g., determining the timing as to which targets to bomb first). In 1957, SAC also constructed The Notch , a facility alternatively known as the 8th Air Force Combat Operations Center (COC) and the Westover Communications Annex , since it
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