The 552d Air Control Wing is an operational wing of the United States Air Force. It has been based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, since July 1976, operating the Boeing E-3 Sentry. It includes the 552d Operations Group, 552d Maintenance Group, 552d Training Group, and 552d Air Control Group.
The wing is responsible to the commander of Air Combat Command for the operation, maintenance, logistics, training, and combat support of E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and Control and Reporting Centers (CRCs). The wing provides combat-ready theater battle management forces, mobile command control, and communications radar elements at the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It deploys, operates, and supports these forces worldwide ensuring combat capability for all peacetime and contingency operations.
From 1955 through 1976, it was located at McClellan Air Force Base, California, where it operated the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star aircraft providing radar coverage off the Pacific coast of the United States.
Units 552nd Operations Group 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3B/C/G Sentry 963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3G Sentry 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3G Sentry 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3G Sentry 552nd Maintenance Group 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron 552nd Equipment Maintenance Squadron 552nd Component Maintenance Squadron 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 552nd Training Group 552nd Training Support Squadron 436th Training Squadron 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3G Sentry 552nd Air Control Group 552nd Air Control Networks Squadron 726th Air Control Squadron 729th Air Control Squadron 752d Operations Support Squadron
History
Air Defense Command warning and control The 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing was activated on 8 July 1955 at McClellan Air Force Base, California, when it assumed command of the 963d and 964th Airborne Air Control Squadrons, which had been activated that March. The wing's third operational squadron, the 965th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron was activated the next month. The wing replaced the Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, Provisional, which had been organized at McClellan on 1 January.Mueller, p. 403
Initially, the wing was assigned to the 8th Air Division, which also controlled the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, which performed the same mission off the Atlantic seaboard.Ravenstein, pp. 285-286 In July 1957, Air Defense Command (ADC) inactivated the 8th Division and the wing was assigned to Western Air Defense Force. In July 1963, the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida was transferred from the 551st Wing. The 966th's mission was to provide expanded coverage off the Florida coastline, which included possible intrusions into American airspace from Cuba. This assignment continued with a brief interruption until the 966th was inactivated in December 1969. At the end of 1969, with the inactivation of the 551st Wing, the 552d assumed the responsibility for deploying EC-121s to Iceland.
In 1962, the wing began to support Project Mercury, and in April 1963, it participated in the recovery of Faith 7, and astronaut Gordon Cooper.
The wing deployed aircraft to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis and its aftermath. It maintained Detachment 1 in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War between 1965 and 1970. Detachment 1 returned to Southeast Asia in 1971 to support Operation Linebacker and Operation Linebacker II operations. On 15 August 1973, Detachment 1 EC-121s flew their final combat mission, and on 1 June 1974, the EC-121 was permanently withdrawn from Southeast Asia. Between 1965 and 1973 the EC-121s flew 13,921 combat missions; more than 98,000 accident-free flying hours; assisted in the shoot-down of 25 MiGs; and supported the rescue of 80 downed flyers. No aircraft were lost.
The wing's operational squadrons began to be reduced starting in 1969, and on 1 July 1974, with only a single flying squadron assigned, the Air Force redesignated the wing as the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Group. It was inactivated on 30 April 1976.
Reactivation at Tinker However, its inactive status lasted less than a week, as the Air Force reactivated the unit on 5 May 1976, and redesignated it as the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (AWACW). On 1 July 1976, the 552 AWACW relocated to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The 552 AWACW reported directly to Headquarters, Tactical Air Command (TAC).
On 1 October 1983, the 552 AWACW's missions and composition expanded so dramatically that the Air Force elevated the unit to division status and redesignated it as the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division.
On 1 April 1985, TAC again redesignated the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division and returned it to Wing status.
In October 1991, Tactical Air Command once more redesignated the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing, naming it the 552d Air Control Wing (ACW).
In the mid-1990s, an Air Force Reserve associate unit, the 513th Air Control Group (513 ACG), was activated, also at Tinker AFB, to provide extra crews for the wing.
Operational accomplishments
In early 1979, the wing assumed a commitment to support the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Today wing crews still stand ready to fly daily on short notice to the borders of the United States and Canada providing additional radar coverage required in defense of the North American continent.
In September 1980, the wing deployed E-3s, aircrew, and support personnel to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation "ELF One" (European Liaison Force One) to provide "around-the-clock" airborne radar coverage, and to enhance Saudi Arabian air defenses during the dispute between Iran and Iraq. Support of "ELF One" continued for 8.5 years. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, E-3, aircrew, and support personnel deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany to participate in joint training w/elements of the NATO air defense network in December 1980. Personnel deployed to Egypt following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in October 1981, and to Grenada in November 1983 to support Operation Urgent Fury. The wing supported Operation Just Cause, the ouster of Manuel Noriega in December 1989.
Also following President Ronald Reagan's National Security Decision Directive in 1986 to further expand its counter-narcotic operations, the wing marked the beginning of its anti-drug commitment. Within six months, the wing had assisted in 13 arrests and the seizure of 3,200 pounds of illegal drugs. In January 1990, the wing deployed personnel and several E-3s to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. This deployment, known as Agate Path, established a forward operating base for counter-narcotic operations in the Central American region.
Other milestones during the 1980s included the delivery of the wing's 25th E-3 in December 1981, which brought a new updated version of the Airborne Warning and Control System, called the U.S./NATO standard, and the wing's redesignation to the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Division in October 1983. The division has again redesignated a wing, becoming a subordinate unit of the newly activated 28th Air Division in April 1985.
In August 1990, following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, the wing deployed E-3s and personnel to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Proven Force, respectively. On 16 January 1991, E-3 support packages of the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing executed airborne control over several initial strikes on Iraq in Operation Desert Storm. Beginning on 17 January 1991, both deployed forces played a prominent role in f Operation Desert Storm. The E-3 aircraft and aircrews flew 7,314.7 combat hours during Desert Storm and controlled 20,401 air refueling sorties with tankers off-loading more than of gas to 60,543 receivers. After the Gulf War, the wing remained in the Persian Gulf region. Wing personnel and aircraft in Southwest Asia continued a post-war surveillance role. In contrast, wing assets in Turkey continued to provide surveillance support for Operation Provide Comfort, the protection of Kurdish refugees.
During 1993, the 552d Air Control Wing continued its worldwide force protection mission in support of Operations Provide Comfort and Southern Watch in Southwest Asia. In January, a 552d Air Control Wing E-3 flying a Southern Watch mission over the Persian Gulf region guided an air strike against Iraqi ground targets in response to Iraqi violations of United Nations resolutions. Four days later, a wing E-3 guided a United States Air Force General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in the interception and destruction of an Iraqi MiG-29. This attack sequence followed a violation of the United Nations' imposed no-fly zone over Northern Iraq.
In September 1994, the wing flew 23 missions over Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy from forward operating locations and Tinker AFB. This operation, directed by President Bill Clinton, ousted military leaders to return the duly-elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, into power.
In October 1995, the first E-3 AWACS aircraft (tail number 80-137) to receive the Block 30/35 upgrade rolled out at Tinker Air Force Base. The Block 30/35 comprised the single largest upgrade to the E-3 aircraft ever accomplished. Block 30/35 affected four major subsystems aboard the E-3 aircraft including the integration of Joint Tactical Information Distribution Systems, Global Position System, Electronic Support Measures System, and Data Analysis Program Group.
In July 1996, the Air Force Reserve activated the 513th Air Control Group. The group worked with the 552d Wing and the host reserve unit at Tinker, the 507th Air Refueling Wing. This activation would significantly impact the wing's ability to support its mission and improve the quality of life for the wing members, by reducing the number of temporary duty days the members would endure each year. The 513th's mission would parallel that of the 552d Wing. The 552d Air Control Wing maintained ownership of the E-3 aircraft but would allow the reservists to assist in the maintenance of the aircraft and fly missions with the E-3s.
In February 1998, the wing deployed more than 100 additional personnel in response to a buildup in Southwest Asia. Four months later, troops returned due to the reduction of forces directed by President Bill Clinton.
In mid-November 1998, wing members deployed to Southwest Asia to support Operation Desert Thunder. This operation was in response to United Nations weapons inspectors being expelled from Iraq. One month later, the wing members once again deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Fox, which was also in response to United Nations weapons inspectors being expelled from Iraq and the increase in no-fly zone violations.
In March 1999, the commander of the European Command requested that the 552d Air Control Wing adjust forces in the European theater in support of Operation Allied Force, NATO's response to the crisis in Kosovo. Again in April, the wing received a request for additional crews and aircraft supporting Operation Allied Force.
Also during the spring of 1999, the wing began to see the results of the Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP); the first AWACS E-3 aircraft to go through RSIP rolled out of the hangar. RSIP is a joint U.S./NATO development program involving a major hardware and software-intensive modification to the existing radar system. Installation of RSIP enhances the operational capability of the E-3 radar electronic counter-countermeasures and dramatically improves system reliability, maintainability, and availability.