The 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron (16 EWS) is an active

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

unit, stationed at

Peterson Space Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force, U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airp ...

, Colorado as part of the

Space Delta 3 Space Delta 3 (DEL 3) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for presenting operational combat-ready space electromagnetic warfare forces in support of assigned missions. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base. Activated o ...

. The squadron protects critical satellite communication links to detect, characterize, geolocate and report sources of

electromagnetic interference Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...

on US military and commercial satellites. The squadron also provides combat-ready crews to deploy and employ defensive space electromagnetic warfare capabilities for theater combatant commanders. The

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

's first defensive counterspace unit. From 1967 through 1994, the squadron, originally the 16th Surveillance Squadron, operated the Cobra Dane space detection system at

Shemya Air Force Base Eareckson Air Station , formerly Shemya Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994. Howev ...

, Alaska.

Mission

The 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron operates space electromagnetic warfare capabilities to achieve space superiority in support of theater campaigns and

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterr ...

's space superiority mission. To achieve this, 16th operates the Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System (RAIDRS) central operating location and up to six RAIDRS fixed ground stations and three deployable ground segments. The unit detects, characterizes, geolocation and

for satellite communications systems, supporting combatant commanders. 16th SPCS operators can remotely control and task the fixed and deployable antenna suites from

Peterson Air Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

. Additionally, the three deployable systems are capable of sustained autonomous operations if connectivity is lost.

History

Cobra Dane operation

The

was first organized at

Shemya Air Force Station Eareckson Air Station , formerly Shemya Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. The airport was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994. Howe ...

, Alaska as the 16th Surveillance Squadron and assigned to the

73d Aerospace Surveillance Wing Space Delta 3 (DEL 3) is a United States Space Force unit responsible for presenting operational combat-ready space electromagnetic warfare forces in support of assigned missions. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base. Activated o ...

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

. The unit's mission was to operate the Cobra Dane long-range early warning radar system, used to track Soviet

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

launches. In April 1967, the 73d Wing was inactivated and the 16th was assigned directly to Fourteenth Aerospace Force. The 16th continued its mission under Air (later Aerospace) Defense Command until the command was disestablished in December 1979.

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both 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 ...

assumed responsibility for strategic space defense assets and assigned the squadron to its

47th Air Division The 47th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 27 February 1987. The unit's origins begin with its predecessor, ...

. The unit was again reassigned in 1983, when the Air Force brought its space defense and communications units under

, which assigned the squadron to the

1st Space Wing The 1st Space Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force active from 1983 to 1992 at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado as part of Air Force Space Command.Peterson Air Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

., Colorado in May 2007 under the

21st Space Wing The 21st Space Wing (21 SW) was the United States Space Force's ground–based missile warning and space control wing. The 21st Space Wing was assigned to Space Operations Command and headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The 21st ...

to operate the Air Force's Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System (RAIDRS). The RAIDRS prototype, designated the "Satellite Interference Response System" (SIRS), was initially deployed to

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

(USCENTCOM)'s area of responsibility for a 120-day proof of concept. When the proof of concept proved to be a success, SIRS was redesignated RAIDRS Deployable Ground Segment-0 and has been continually deployed to USCENTCOM since then. In 2011, the Bounty Hunter system was delivered to USCENTCOM for added capability and the two comprise

Operation Silent Sentry Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. Airmen from the 16th and its reserve associate, the

380th Space Control Squadron The United States Air Force's 380th Space Control Squadron (380 SPCS) is a space control unit located at Peterson AFB, Colorado. Mission The 380 SPCS is the Reserve Associate Unit to the 16th Space Control Squadron. They jointly conduct space e ...

provide the preponderance of the required manpower for this mission. On 15 April 2022, the 16th Space Control Squadron was redesignated the 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 16th Surveillance Squadron and activated on 1 November 1966 (not organized) : Organized on 1 January 1967 : Redesignated 16th Space Surveillance Squadron on 15 May 1992 : Inactivated on 1 October 1994 * Redesignated 16th Space Control Squadron on 4 May 2007 : Activated on 16 May 2007 * Redesignated 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron on 15 April 2022

Assignments

* Air Defense Command, 1 November 1966 (not organized) * 73d Aerospace Surveillance Wing, 1 January 1967 * Fourteenth Aerospace Force, 30 April 1971 * Alaskan Air Defense Region, 1 October 1976 * 47th Air Division, 1 December 1979 * 1st Space Wing, 1 May 1983 * 73d Space Surveillance Group (later 73d Space Group), 1 September 1991 – 1 October 1994 *

21st Operations Group Space Delta 2 (DEL 2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness delta and is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Space Delta 2 tracks and monitors all manmade objects from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit ...

, 16 May 2007 – 24 July 2020 *

, 24 July 2020 – Present

Stations

(later Shemya Air Force Base, Eareckson Air Force Base), Alaska, 1 January 1967 – 1 October 1994 *

, Colorado (2007–Present)

Awards

List of commanders

* Lt Col Paul Tombarge, 2009 - 2011 * Lt Col Mark Guerber, ~2015 * Lt Col Thomas Johnson, ~2017 * Lt Col Ernest Schmitt, 16 June 2017 – ~25 June 2019 * Lt Col Angelo Fernandez, 25 June 2019 – 25 June 2021 * Lt Col Marshall Tillis, 25 June 2021 – present

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Air Force Association: "Space Almanac 2007", Aug 2007

* {{USAF Space Command Squadrons of the United States Space Force Military units and formations in Colorado