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 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.[2]: 38
Continental Air Forces
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.[3] AAF Regulation 20-1, dated 15 September 1945, specified 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".[4]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 the use of available radar sets".[5] 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",[6] and the HQ AAF Plans reminded "the command that radar defense planning had to be based on the available equipment."[7]
Reorganization of Continental Air Forces began in 1945, when ground radar and interceptor plans were prepared for the transfer at CAF HQ in the expectation that 'it would become Air Defense Command.'
ADC became a subordinate operational command of Continental Air Command on 1 December 1948[citation needed] and on 27 June 1950, United States air defense systems began 24-hour operations two days after the start of the Korean War.[14] 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[specify] mission.[10]
Reformation 1951
ADC was reinstated as a major command on 1 January 1951 at
Ground Observation Corps (disbanded 1959).[10] 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".[16][17]
During the mid-1950s, planners devised the idea of extending the wall of powerful land-based radar seaward with
NAS Keflavik
, Iceland. Final EC-121 operations ended in September 1978.
Ennis C. Whitehead that "the Air Force had approved activation of a separate Air Defense Command [from CONAC] with headquarters on Ent."[20]
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
surface-to-air missiles in 1959). ADC began missile warning and space surveillance missions in 1960 and 1961, and established 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
.
Tactical Air Command and ADTAC
On 1 October 1979 ADCOM interceptors/bases and remaining air warning radar stations transferred to
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 the same Chidlaw Building
where ADCOM had been inactivated.
Chronology of major events
27 March 1946 : The United States Army Air Force activates the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field, New York
15 April 1957 : Air Defense Command assigned operational control of the DEW Line and all atmospheric defense units of the inactivated Northeast Air Command.
12 September 1957 : NORAD is established at Ent AFB with Canadian Air Defense Command air defense units and United States Continental Air Defense Command air defense units
1 December 1958 :SAGE Combat Center No 1 at Hancock Field, New York became operational
1 January 1959: The first BOMARC squadron, the 46th Air Defense Missile Squadron was activated at McGuire AFB, New Jersey.
30 September 1960: ADC's
The Pentagon
1 July 1961: ADC took over the Laredo and Trinidad missile and space vehicle tracking stations[23]
15 January 1968 : Air Defense Command is redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM)
1 July 1975 : Aerospace Defense Command designated a "Specified Command" taking over Continental Air Defense Command roles and responsibilities
1 October 1975 : Alaskan ADCOM Region established, Aerospace Defense Command assumes control of missile warning and space surveillance forces of Alaskan Air Command
29 May 1979: The USAF made a public announcement of its plans to reorganize its aerospace defense forces. Consequently, the USAF inactivated ADCOM as a major command and reassigned its resources to other commands.
31 March 1980: Aerospace Defense Command inactivated at the Chidlaw Building in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Interceptor Aircraft
See also:
List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command Interceptor Squadrons
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)
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.[14]
The first ADC interceptor, 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.[24][25]
The early jet fighters, such as the
F-84 Thunderjet, lacked all-weather capability and were deemed useless for air defense purposes. Much hope 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.[26][27]
The first-generation jets gave way to all-weather dedicated interceptor jets. 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[28]
The F-86D was not ideal, however; its afterburner consumed a great deal of fuel in getting it to altitude, and 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.[28]
The first of the Century Series supersonic interceptors was the
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.[29]
Artist's impression of the North American XF-108 Rapier
The North American
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 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, 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.
One of the three Lockheed YF-12A prototypes had Air Defense Command markings (vertical stabilizer nearest center) during 1963 Edwards testing by AFSC's4786th TS. Using the AN/ASG-18 from the F-108 Rapier program and Falcon missile developed for the F-108A, the Mach 3 interceptor was funded by Congress with $90 million for a 14 May 1965 USAF order of 93 F-12B aircraft (cancelled by SECDEF).
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 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 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.[30]
Interceptor gunnery training
Yokota AB
, Japan in 1958. Note the bright orange paint on the upper fuselage and wings
B-57E Canberra dedicated
Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets
. Due to 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
Wheelus AB, Libya where European-based interceptors deployed for "live firing" over the vast desert range there.[31]
To provide challenges for interceptors, The B-57Es towed styrofoam, bomb-shaped radar reflectant targets. These could be towed at higher altitudes than 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).[31]
In order to cover combat losses in 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.[31]
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.[32]
Martin EB-57E, AF Ser. No. 55-4241, of the 4577th DSES flying over the Great Salt Lake, Utah about 1970. Retired 30 July 1979
"Faker", or simulated target aircraft flew mock penetrations into air defense sectors to exercise GDI stations,
B-29 Superfortress bombers, 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 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).[31]
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 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.[31]
Units operating these specially equipped aircraft were designated Defense Systems Evaluation Squadrons (DSES). The
used each AN/FPS-50 to sweep 2 radar beams each ~1° in azimuth x 3.5° elevation (illustrated much less thick). Azimuth sweeping created a "Lower Fan" centered at 3.5° elevation and "Upper Fan" at 7° (both illustrated much higher) with "revisit time of 2 sec" for ICBM detection.The "war room" of the Chidlaw Building's Combined Operations Center took over command center operations in 1963 from the nearby Ent AFB "main battle control center" (screens show missile impact ellipses for an exercise.)
Continental defense
From 1 September 1954 until 1975, ADC was a component of the unified
ARAACOM (1957 ARADCOM) and until 1965, the Navy's NAVFORCONAD
. The USAF as the executive CONAD agent initially used ADC's:
General
Benjamin Chidlaw
as CINCONAD,
headquarters staff and ADC HQ building for the unified command staff, and
new blockhouse for the unified command center
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 a separate multi-service CONAD headquarters staff (with an Air Force Element), separated command of ADC from CINCONAD, and in 1957 added
Texas Tower".[38] ADC subsequently became a component of , After the NORAD agreement was signed on 12 May 1958, ADC became a NORAD component.[39]
SAGE
The
North Truro AFS
in 1966.)
By 30 June 1958, the planned ADC anti-ICBM processing facility to coordinate the ABM missile fire was considered "the heart of the entire [planned] ballistic missile defense system[41] (conceived to have Nike Zeus[42] 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.[43]
PARCS phased array data to NORAD in 1977 after being "modified for the ADCOM mission".[21]
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 was "not cost effective" against ICBM warheads.[49]—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 CommandASM-135 ASAT collided with a satellite in 1984.
Consolidated C3
ADC's Consolidated Command. Control and Communications Program, FY 1965–1972[48] was an outgrowth of a 196x "ADC-NORAD PAGE Study" for replacing SAGE/BUIC with a Primary Automated Ground Environment (PAGE) .[50] The program with a Joint DOD/FAA National Airspace System (NAS)[51] resulted with DOD/FAA agreements for a common aircraft surveillance system,[52] with the FAA "to automate its new National Airspace System (NAS) centers".[48] ADC estimated its portion "would cost about $6 million, with annual operating, maintenance, and communication costs about $3.5 million"[52] ("the first BUIC III was set to begin in April 1967 at Z-50, Saratoga Springs".)[50]
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 the 1950s, went into decline.[14]
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 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.[14]
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 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.[14]
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 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.[14]
Inactivation
Emblem of Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC)
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 a reduction in operational capability, moved the final "reorganization" of ADCOM to center stage. Two years of planning followed, but by late 1979 the Air Force was ready to carry it through. It was conducted in two phases:[14]
On 1 October 1979 ADCOM atmospheric defense resources (interceptors, warning radars, and associated bases and personnel) were transferred to Tactical Air Command. They were placed under
On 1 December 1979 missile warning and space surveillance assets were transferred to
Direct Reporting Unit, was established from the remnants of ADCOM headquarters.[14]
ADCOM, as a specified command, continued as the United States component of NORAD, but the major air command was inactivated on 31 March 1980. The unit designation of the MAJCOM reverted to the control of the Department of the Air Force.[14]
(Special Edition for AAF Organizations). New York: Pocket Books. pp. 13–15.
^ abcdeHistory of Strategic and Ballistic Missile Defense, 1945–1955: Volume I(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014. Stations were undermanned, personnel lacked training, and repair and maintenance were difficult. This stop-gap system later would be replaced by a 75-station, permanent net authorized by Congress and approved by the President in 1949 … To be closer to ConAC, ARAACOM moved to Mitchel AFB, New York on 1 November 1950.
^quotation from Grant Ch. V—citation 31 cites "1st Ind (ltr, Hq CAF to CG AAF, subj: Defensive Communications and Electronics in the Postwar Period, 21 Jul 45), Hq AAF to CG CAF, 30 Aug 45, in Case Hist AC&W System, doc 4."
^quotation from Grant Ch. V-citation 32 cites a letter to "Guided Missile Br [in the] AC/AS-4 R&E Div" and a Hq CAF letter: "R&R AC/AS-3, Guided Missiles Div to AC/AS-4 R&E Div, attn: Guided Missiles Br, subj: Military Characteristics of an Air Defense System, 23 Jan 46, in DRB War Plans Miscellaneous National Defense 1946–47, v2; ltr, Hq CAF to CG AAF, subj: Radar Defense Report for Continental United States, 28 Jan 46 in Case Hist AC&W System, doc 9."
from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013. "BUIC II radar sites would be capable of incorporating data feeds from other radar sectors directly onto their radar screens.
^"Chapter II: American Strategy for Air and Ballistic Missile Defense". History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense, 1945–1955: Volume I. pp. 37–68.
^Historical Summary: Radar Bomb Scoring, 1945–1983(PDF). Mobile Radar (Report). 9 November 1983. Retrieved 31 August 2013. On 24 July 1945, the 206th was redesignated the 63rd AAFBU (RBS) and three weeks later was moved to Mitchell Field, New York, and placed under the command of the Continental Air Force.
^ abWainstein, L. (June 1975). The Evolution of U.S. Strategic Command and Control and Warning: Part One (1945–1953) (Report). Institute for Defense Analyses. pp. 1–138. In September 1956…the JCS transferred responsibility for the air defense systems in Alaska and the Canadian Northeast from the unified commands in those areas to CONAD.
Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 31 July 2012. The new Space Command will be formed on 1 September 1982. [and] will be built around the existing Aerospace Defense Center
^ abPreface by Buss, L. H. (Director) (1 November 1959). North American Air Defense Command and Continental Air Defense Command Historical Summary: January–June 1959 (Report). Directorate of Command History: Office of Information Services. "Project MADRE (Magnetic Drum Radar Equipment)."
^ abPreface by Buss, L. H. (Director) (1 October 1958). North American Air Defense Command Historical Summary: January–June 1958 (Report). Directorate of Command History: Office of Information Services.
^NORAD BMEWS and AICBM System Display (Report). 30 June 1958. (cited by 1958 NORAD/CONAD Historical Summary, Jan–Jun)
ISBN 978-1-4379-2131-1. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. In July 1961, the National Space Surveillance and Control Center (NSSCC) was discontinued as the new SPADATS Center became operational at Ent AFB, Colorado. Officially, this marked the beginning of aerospace operations by CINCNORAD.[clarification needed
^Model Radar Cross Section Data(PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (Report) (revised ed.). 31 May 1963 [10 January 1963]. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
