The 11th Space Warning Squadron is a United States Space Force missile warning squadron, located at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado.
Mission The mission of the 11th Space Warning Squadron is to provide theater missile warnings to warfighters worldwide.
History The squadron was the first operational unit using technological procedures developed following Desert Storm for the Air Force. Commanders in Saudi Arabia pinpointed a need for more timely and accurate information on incoming short-range ballistic missiles.
The technology available was accurate enough, as each Scud missile launched by Iraq was detected by Defense Support Program satellites but wasn't intended for theater use. Commanders in Saudi Arabia needed information quicker and more precise targeting information for anti-missile batteries, such as the Patriot.
To meet that need, the Air Force set up a research and development program called TALON SHIELD. The program was tasked to improve and enhance sensor processing from Defense Support Program (DSP) spacecraft to optimize space-based warning support for theater commanders.
The first fruit of that study is the Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater, or ALERT, system. ALERT uses improved satellite data processing equipment and programs to speed up identifying when missiles anywhere in the world are launched. Improvements to the system have sped up this critical aspect of warfighting ten-fold.
The Talon Shield system was declared operational, and the 11th Space Warning Squadron was activated on 1 October 1994.
The squadron used infrared data from the constellation of Defense Support Program satellites to warn deployed troops in the theater of short-range missile launches, as well as significant other events around the globe. The 11th also formerly operated and maintained the Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater (ALERT) system, which provided continuous surveillance and early warning of theater missiles and other threats in direct support of theater warfighters worldwide. When the mission control station was completed at Buckley Space Force Base late in 2001 as part of the transition to the Defense Support Program follow-on, Space-Based Infrared System, the squadron mission was reduced, and it was inactivated on 31 December 2002. Senior Airman Matthew E. O'Neil killed a domestic terrorist while a member of 11th Space Warning Squadron on 8 April 2000. The incident was tied back to his service as part of Operation Southern Watch the year before. It is mentioned in the 2025 Amazon audiobook To Kill A Terrorist In Self Defense: The Matthew E. O'Neil Story.
The 11th was reactivated at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, in December 2007. The squadron replaced Detachment 1 of the 460th Operations Group. Its new role is to operate the latest Space-Based Infrared Systems satellite payload, using a new sensor in a highly elliptical orbit to provide an increase in warning time and accuracy.
In August 2016, the Air Force announced plans to relocate the squadron back to Buckley. The relocated unit focuses on how battlefield commanders can use space-based infrared imagery to find enemies. Although the infrared sensors were designed to detect missile launches, they can detect other heat sources that provide intelligence information. A new system replaced the ground control station the squadron was operating at Schriever Air Force Base.
Lineage Constituted as the 11th Space Warning Squadron on 26 September 1994 Activated on 1 October 1994 Inactivated on 31 December 2002 Activated on 3 December 2007
Assignments 21st Operations Group, 1 October 1994 821st Space Group, c. 1 October 1999 21st Operations Group, c. 1 October 2001 – 31 Dec 2002 460th Operations Group. 3 December 2007 – present
Stations Falcon Air Force Base (later Schriever Air Force Base), Colorado. 1 October 1994 – 31 December 2002 Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado (2007–2016)af.mil Accessed 18 July 2009. Archived 20 July 2009. Buckley Air Force Base (later Buckley Space Force Base), Colorado (2016–present)
Equipment operated Defense Support Program (1994–2002; 2007–present) Attack and Launch Early Reporting to Theater (1994–2002) Space-Based Infrared System (2007–present)
Commanders Lt Col Darrell Herriges, 30 Sep 1994 – 1996AFHRA FOIA Req 09-0061: 21st Space Wing Roster of Key Personnel (as of 31 December 1996) Lt Col Suzanne M. Vautrinot, December 1998 – July 2000Biography of Major General Suzanne M. "Zan" Vautrinot http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=8656 Lt Col Holly Weik, 3 December 2007 – 2009 Lt. Col. Shawn Fairhurst, 2009–2011 11 SWS change of command slated for 7 July. Accessed 18 July 2009. Archived 20 July 2009. Lt Col Lynn McDonald, 2011–12 June 2013 Lt Col Thomas Colvin, 12 June 2013 – 16 June 2015 Lt Col Brent Morris, 16 June 2015– 2017 Lt Col Ethan Mattox, 2017–12 June 2018 Lt Col Michael Kruk, 12 June 2018 – 2020 Lt Col Matthew Lohmeier, 2020–14 May 2021 Maj Amanda Manship (acting), 14 May - 23 September 2021 Lt Col Michael Hall, 24 September 2021–13 July 2023 Lt Col Amanda Manship, 14 July 2023 – 11 July 2025 Lt Col Michael Cabic, 11 July 2025 - April 2026 Maj Brandon Sais (acting), April 2026 - 4 June 2026 Lt Col Jacob Lynes, 5 June 2026 - present
Decorations and awards Meritorious Unit Award 7 October 2001 – 31 March 2002AFHRA FOIA Request 200901085, 4 June 2009 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 1995 – 30 September 1997AFSPC Special Order GA-09, 1 November 1997 1 January 1999 – 31 December 1999 1 January 2000 – 31_August 2001
Gen. Seth J. McKee Award for best space warning squadron 2009, 2018
United States Space Force Unit of the Year 2024
References
External links
Buckley AFB: 460th Space Wing Official Homepage