The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) provides a survivable launch capability for the United States Air Force's

LGM-30G Minuteman III The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and r ...

intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force. The ALCS is operated by airborne missileers from Air Force Global Strike Command's (AFGSC)

625th Strategic Operations Squadron The 625th Strategic Operations Squadron (STOS) is a United States Air Force nuclear missile control & support squadron. The 625th STOS has five flights that play different roles in this mission. The Latin motto of the 625th STOS is ''Si vis pacem ...

(STOS) 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_weapon, ...

(USSTRATCOM). The system is located on board the United States Navy's

E-6B Mercury The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...

, which serves as USSTRATCOM's " Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post (ABNCP). The ALCS crew is integrated into the ABNCP battle staff and is on alert around the clock.

Overview

In the mid-1960s,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

civilian and military leadership became concerned about the possibility of a decapitating attack from the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

s, destroying any land-based communication links to the nuclear forces of the Strategic Air Command. One solution to the communication problem was placing radio equipment on board an aircraft, and allow it to fly over the

and use radio broadcasts to pass along information. This concept would allow communication to missile launch crews to pass along Emergency Action Messages (EAMs), but would not duplicate the missile combat crew's function of actually launching the missiles. The key characteristic added to ALCS (versus other communication methods such as ERCS) was giving the airborne crews the same degree of access to the launch facilities as the underground missile crews.George Washington University's "USAF Ballistic Missile Programs 1967-1968", September 1969, pg 17
/ref> Minuteman launch facilities contained an

ultra high frequency Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ( ...

( UHF) receiver that would pick up commands from the ALCS; the destruction of the launch control center or the hardened intersite cable system would not prevent retaliation.George Washington University: "United States Ballistic Missile Programs: 1964-1966", March 1967, pg 7
/ref>

History

ALCS' first generation equipment was declared operational on 31 May 1967. Mobile Minuteman train

Boeing EC-135G (717-148), USA - Air Force AN0823212

625th STOS maintains strategic watch 141003-F-AJ823-045

Operational information

ALCS-configured aircraft

The ALCS mission has been held by multiple aircraft during the last 50 years: * EC-135 – performed Looking Glass and ALCC mission for the Strategic Air Command (1967–1998) **EC-135A (ALCC) **EC-135C (ABNCP and ALCC) **EC-135G (ALCC and ABNCP) **EC-135L PACCS Radio Relay * E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post – Aircraft tail number 75-0125 performed Looking Glass on a trial basis from 1980 to 1981 to assess possibility of replacing EC-135 fleet. Deemed too expensive and ALCS was subsequently removed from the E-4B.2 ACCS Part 1
/ref> *

– performs Looking Glass, ALCC, and

TACAMO TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) is a United States military system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear warfare to maintain communications between the decision-makers (the National Command Authority) and the t ...

mission for

(1998–Present) **E-6B

ICBMs remotely controlled

* LGM-30A/B Minuteman I (1967–1975) * LGM-30F Minuteman II (1967–1992) *

(1971–present) *

LGM-118A Peacekeeper The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, originally known as the MX for "Missile, Experimental", was a MIRV-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced and deployed by the United States from 1985 to 2005. The missile could carry up to twelve Mar ...

(1987–2005)

Units

Units with ALCS crewmembers assigned

* 68th Strategic Missile Squadron (Ellsworth AFB, SD: 1967-1970)A History of PACCS, ACCS and ALCS
/ref> * 91st Strategic Missile Wing (Minot AFB, ND: 1967-1969) opkins III, Robert S. 1997. Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing Limited/ref> *

4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

(Ellsworth AFB, SD: 1970-1992)4th ACCS
/ref> * 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron (Offutt AFB, NE: 1970-1994)2 ACCS Part 2
/ref> *

7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron The 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron is part of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. It operates the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, conducting airborne command and control missions. The squadron has ...

(Offutt AFB, NE: 1994-1998) * 625th Missile Operations Flight/ USSTRATCOM (Offutt AFB, NE: 1998-2007)"625th STOS Fact Sheet"
/ref> *

/ USSTRATCOM (Offutt AFB, NE: 2007–Present)

Units with ALCS-equipped aircraft

* 28th Air Refueling Squadron (Ellsworth AFB, SD: 1967-1970) **EC-135A, EC-135G *

906th Air Refueling Squadron The 906th Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is an active associate squadron and part of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The squadron was first activated in United States mil ...

(Minot AFB, ND: 1967-1969 **EC-135A, EC-135L * 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (Offutt AFB, NE: 1967-1970) **EC-135C *

(Ellsworth AFB, SD: 1970-1992) **EC-135A, EC-135C, EC-135G, EC-135L * 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron (Offutt AFB, NE: 1970-1994) **EC-135C *

(Offutt AFB, NE: 1994-1998) **EC-135C * STRATCOMWING ONE (Tinker AFB, OK: 1998–Present) ** Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3) ***E-6B Mercury ** Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (VQ-4) ***E-6B Mercury

ALCS Personnel

The Airborne Launch Control System Flight of the

provides training and crewmembers for two ALCS positions on board the E-6B Mercury.

ALCS-assisted launches

A test of the ALCS, both ground and air components, is called a GIANT BALL. :''This list does not contain any launches after the initial Test and Evaluation phase of the system.''

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline
E-6B ABNCP Factsheet

LGM-30G Minuteman III Factsheet
Missile launchers Military radio systems of the United States Nuclear warfare Military communications United States nuclear command and control