| Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) | |
|---|---|
 Lockheed-Boeing-General Dynamics YF-22 Advanced Tactical Fighters, 1990. The YF-22 was the last major weapons system delivered to Air Force Systems Command prior to its inactivation and merger intoAir Force Materiel Command. | |
| Active | 1 February 1950 – 1 July 1992 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Major Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Baltimore, Maryland (1950–1958) Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland (1958–92) |
| Insignia | |
| Emblem of Air Force Systems Command (1961–1992) |  |
| Emblem of Air Research and Development Command (1950–1961) |  |
TheAir Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactiveUnited States Air ForceMajor Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off fromAir Materiel Command.[1] The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems.
AFSC took on engineering functions which formerly resided in theAir Materiel Command (AMC), theArmy Air Forces Technical Service Command, and theAir Technical Service Command (ATSC) as a separate research and development command in 1950. It incorporatedAir Proving Ground Command in 1957.[1] On 1 July 1992, AFSC andAir Force Logistics Command were merged to form theAir Force Materiel Command, located atWright-Patterson Air Force Base,Ohio.[1]
In the reorganization of 1961, Air Force Systems Command acquired the materiel procurement function fromAir Force Logistics Command. It was re-integrated with Air Force Logistics Command in 1992.[1]
TheSecond World War had shown the destructiveness of aerial attack and made GeneralHenry H. Arnold, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, an aggressive advocate for aeronautical research. On 7 November 1944, Arnold directed the AAF Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) to study the technological achievements of America's wartime allies and provide a blueprint for large-scale research and development of science and advanced technology for the Air Force.[2] However, the Army Air Forces needed to achieve independence, which it did on 18 September 1947, with its transition into an independentUnited States Air Force. Also, the role of the Air Force in the postwar world had to be defined. The1948 Finletter Commission published its report,Survival in the Air Age, in January 1948. It set forth a new concept of airpower, as a powerful peacetime force able to counter any enemy air attack.
The Finletter Report inspired a group of senior USAF officers with backgrounds in engineering and related fields to analyze the existing R&D organization. Their findings, and the salesmanship of GeneralsJimmy Doolittle andDonald Putt, convincedAir Force Chief of Staff GeneralHoyt S. Vandenberg to put the R&D mission on a more equal footing with the operational Air Force. Accordingly, and in the face of intense Air Staff opposition, on 23 January 1950, the Research and Development Command (RDC) came into being. Established at Washington D.C., with an initial assignment of 20 officers, 5 airmen, and 20 civilians, Major General David M. Schlatter was appointed as its first commander.[3] The command's name was changed to Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) on 16 September 1950.
The original transition plan called for ARDC to gradually assume Air Materiel Command's research and development responsibilities, but the transfer process proved to be much more difficult than planned.[4] ARDC leadership favoured a "one-time, one-date," assumption of all research and development activities while AMC preferred the gradual transfer as originally planned. Also ARDC and AMC could not agree on where development ended and production began. General Vandenberg settled the disputes by issuing a 28 March 1951 directive, calling for the immediate activation of ARDC as an "independent Air Force Command, effective 2 April 1951."[5] General Vandenberg directed the transfer to ARDC ofEdwards,Holloman, andGriffiss Air Force Bases; theCambridge,Watson, Climatic Project Laboratories, and the Upper Air Research Station. TheAir Force Flight Test Center andAir Force Missile Test Center also joined the new command.[6] The former Watson laboratory, relocated to Griffiss AFB, soon became theRome Air Development Center.
HQ USAF established the Air Development Force at Wright-Patt AFB in April 1951.[7] As part of ARDC, the Wright Air Development Center (WADC) was formed at Wright-Patterson AFB. WADC conglomerated four elements extracted from Air Material Command: Engineering, flight test, all-weather flying, and air research. WADC was reorganized and renamed the Wright Air Development Division (WADD) in 1959 until it became the Aeronautical Systems Division under AFSC two years later. TheArnold Engineering Development Center was dedicated by PresidentHarry S. Truman on 25 June 1951.[8]
During the 1950s, ARDC began to make its mark, developing many ambitious aircraft and missile prototypes. Among the successes of this period were theNorth American F-86 Sabre swept wing fighter, theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress intercontinental bomber, theBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker jet-powered refueling tanker aircraft, theLockheed C-130 Hercules turboprop transport and theLockheed U-2 very high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
In 1949 a Human Resources Research Center was established atLackland Air Force Base, which developed classification and other tests, focusing on ways to improve personal effectiveness. However, some of these functions were under Air Training Command, while others fell under ARDC, while the School of Aerospace Medicine was now part ofAir University.[9]
TheGerman Army's employment of theV-2 rocket had demonstrated the viability of ballistic missiles during theSecond World War. TheUnited States Army Air Forces began developing U.S. ballistic missiles immediately after the end of the war. However, initial efforts to combine ballistic missiles andnuclear weapons was technologically infeasible until the development ofthermonuclear weapons. In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union outpaced the United States in ballistic missile development, leading to the convening of theTeapot Committee to determine why the United States was struggling.[10]
In accordance with the Teapot Committee's recommendations,Air Research and Development Command established theWestern Development Division(WDD) atLos Angeles Air Force Station under Brigadier GeneralBernard Schriever on 1 July 1954. The Western Development Division's first program was theConvairSM-65 Atlasintercontinental ballistic missile, however by 1955 it initiated development of theMartinHGM-25A Titan I ICBM andDouglasPGM-17 Thorintermediate range ballistic missile.
In October 1955, the Western Development Division gained responsibility forspacecraft development when the Weapon System 117L satellite (nicknamed PIED PIPER), intended to conduct reconnaissance and missile warning, was transferred from theWright Air Development Center. WS-117L formed the basis of theSamos andCORONA satellites.[11] Brigadier GeneralBernard Schriever, Commander, WDD, was instructed to prepare a system development plan for WS-117L. On 1 June 1957, the Western Development Division was renamed the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division.[12]
The Weapon System 117L program, initially intending to perform a variety of task under different sub-systems, was broken into three different programs in 1959. TheDiscoverer Program, better known as Corona, was a photographic reconnaissance satellite that ejected film for recovery in-atmosphere. The Discoverers were launched using aThor-Agena booster, withDiscoverer 1 becoming the first satellite to enter apolar orbit andDiscoverer 2 was the first to havethree-axis stabilization. In 1960,Discoverer 13 was the first to return a capsule when it crashed into thePacific Ocean andDiscoverer 14 marked the first successful return of film when it wasrecovered in-air by a6593d Test SquadronFairchild JC-119 Flying Boxcar.[13] TheSatellite and Missile Observation Program (SAMOS), was intended as a heavier counterpart to Discoverer and used theAtlas-Agena booster. SAMOS was intended to collect photographic and electromagnetic reconnaissance data, but instead of returning film capsules to earth, SAMOS would electronically transmit the data to ground stations. However, the technology for electro-optical film readout was not mature and it was canceled byUndersecretary of the Air ForceJoseph V. Charyk. TheMissile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) was the third program derived from WS 117L and focused on providing missile warning of ICBMs using infrared sensors. Initial plans called for a constellation of eight spacecraft in polar orbits to monitor the Soviet Union, however due to early satellite failures it remained a test program until 1968.[14]
To control these satellites, in 1958 the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division established an interim satellite control facility atLockheed Missile and Space Division. On 6 April 1959, the6594th Test Wing was established to operate the facility and on 1 March 1960 it transferred operations toSunnyvale Air Force Station in California. It also established a globalAir Force Satellite Control Network. On 16 November 1959, the 6592nd Support Group was established to manageLos Angeles Air Force Station.[15]
The first space missions launched by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division were not DOD, but the scientificPioneer lunar probes. First directed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, they were later turned over to NASA. The Thor-Able rocket was specifically developed by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Agency for these lunar missions, which aimed to enhance scientific knowledge and American global prestige during theCold War. ARPA assigned the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division responsibility for three probes to be launched with the Thor-Able, theArmy Ballistic Missile Agency two probes to be launched with theJuno II, and theNaval Ordnance Test Station to provide the imaging system.Pioneer 0,Pioneer 1, andPioneer 2 were the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division's lunar probes. While Pioneer 0 and Pioneer 2 suffered launch failures and Pioneer 1 only travelled a third of the way to the Moon, it was the world's firstdeep space probe and provided information on the extent of theVan Allen radiation belts.[16]
The command played a major contribution in the development ofIntercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The first detonation of athermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb was the "George" test ofOperation Greenhouse by the United States on 9 May 1951.[17] In response, theSoviet Union raced to reduce their vulnerability, detonating a thermonuclear device on 23 August 1953. A crash program was begun to develop the first U.S. ICBM, theSM-65 Atlas. The Atlas became operational in 1959. In terms of importance, resources, and success, the ICBM program was rivalled only by the famedManhattan Project of World War II.[2]
On 20 September 1957, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division conducted the first launch of a Thor missile fromCape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and on 17 December that year, the first launch of an Atlas missile. By 1959, thePGM-17 Thor IRBM was deployed to the United Kingdom and turned over toRAF Bomber Command for operational service. This effort,Project Emily, saw RAF missile squadrons reforming for operational service from the first half of 1959.[18] The SM-65 Atlas ICBM was turned over SAC by the end of 1962. In 1960, the HGM-25A Titan I ICBM made its first flight and was turned over to Strategic Air Command in 1962, completing the deployment of the first-generation ballistic missiles.[19]
These first-generation ballistic missiles also served as the foundation for the first-generation ofspace launch vehicles. The first space launch vehicle developed by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division was theThor-Able, which used a Thor IRBM as the first stage and aVanguard-derivedAble. Its first launch was on 11 October 1958. The first satellite launched by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division was theArmy Signal CorpsSCORE using anAtlas B. TheThor andAtlas rocket families would form the core of the United States' space launch fleet. Following its 1958 establishment,NASA immediately began using the Thor for space launches and in 1959 developed theThor-Delta. The Atlas was adopted by NASA in 1959 andProject Mercury used theAtlas LV-3B for its orbital flights, with the Army'sMercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle used only for sub-orbital flights.[10]
AIMACO, the "Supply Control Command compiler" for[clarification needed]AirMaterielCommand, began circa 1959 with the definition of ahigh level programming language influenced by theUNIVAC Flow-Matic andCOMTRAN programming languages. The draft AIMACO language definition was developed by an AMC-chaired committee of industry representatives fromIBM,United States Steel, and AMC Programming Services. AIMACO had two compilers specified/designed (never produced), and AMC originally intended all programming for AMC systems would be in AIMACO and compiled on a UNIVAC at the AMC headquarters at Wright-Patterson AFB for operation on UNIVAC or IBM computers. An alternative compiler was designed by AMC Programming Services to compile systems on IBM computers for operation on IBM computers. AIMACO, along with FLOW-MATIC and COMTRAN, influenced development of theCOBOL programming language.[20]
The Atlas program led to the belief that the entire responsibility for deploying new weapons systems – from research, development and testing through procurement and production – should be vested in one command, rather than split between Air Materiel Command (AMC) and ARDC. It was theSoviet Union's launch ofSputnik 1 in October 1957 that greatly influenced HQ USAF and ARDC thinking. ARDC's Air Defense Systems Management Office was redesignated as theAir Defense Systems Integration Division on February 24, 1958. TheStever Report, completed in June 1958, which proposed a new Air Force command for weapons acquisition. With this report and a realization of DoD's desire to assign the military space mission to the Air Force, the Air Force won the approval ofSecretary of DefenseRobert S. McNamara in 1961 for a new major command.[2]
On Oct 5-6 1959, an ARDC reorganization was announced. The command was to include Air Force Research Division and three field organizations: Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (AFBMD), theWright Air Development Division (WADD), and the Air Force Command And Control Development Division (AFCCDD), their designations indicating function rather than location.[21] The final disposition of ADSID was not yet determined.
In the reorganization of 1961, Air Materiel Command was re-designatedAir Force Logistics Command (AFLC) while Air Research and Development Command, gaining responsibility for weapon system acquisition, was re-designatedAir Force Systems Command (AFSC) under GeneralBernard Schriever.[2] It was to be responsible for "all research, development and acquisition of aerospace and missile systems. With the inactivation of the Air Materiel Command, a new Logistics Command was established to handle maintenance and supply only. To carry out this challenging assignment, AFSC was to have four subordinate divisions: theElectronic Systems Division, theAeronautical Systems Division, a Ballistic Missile Division, and a Space SystemsDivision. The new arrangement separated missile and space management, as General Schriever had favored for the past two years. The new Space Systems Division would be formed at the Los Angeles site from elements of ARDC's Ballistic Missile Division and AMC's Ballistic Missiles Center. The Ballistic Missile Division, also including elements from ARDC's Ballistic Missile Division and AMC's Ballistic Missiles Center as well as the Army Corps of Engineers' Ballistic Missile Construction Office, would relocate to Norton Air Force Base. An additional measure involved establishment of an Office ofAerospace Research (OAR) on the Air Staff for basic research elements."[22]
The Ballistic Missile Division was to continue the work of the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division on second-generation ballistic missiles. The first major missile system it worked on was theLGM-25C Titan II ICBM, which was an improvement over the LGM-25A Titan I. The Titan II had storable propellent, an all-inertial guidance system, and could be launched from undergroundmissile silos. The first Titan IIs went on alert with Strategic Air Command in June 1963. The BMD also began development of theLGM-30 Minuteman ICBM, which was the first Air Force ballistic missile to use solid fuel rather than liquid fuel. The first Minuteman I was launched by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division on 1 February 1962 and turned over to Strategic Air Command on 11 September 1962. By 1965, the Minuteman I had replaced the Atlas and Titan I ICBMs.[23]
The Space Systems Division provided close support to NASA'sProject Mercury, providing three of theMercury Seven astronauts, launch facilities (Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 5 and14),RM-90 Blue Scout II andAtlas LV-3B launch vehicles, and recovery forces.[24] The Space Systems Division was planning to provide similar support toProject Gemini and was supporting 14 NASA programs with 96 research and development officers attached. In April 1962, the position of deputy to the commander of Air Force Systems Command for Manned Space Flight was established atNASA Headquarters, consisting of personnel from all three services.[25]
Under theKennedy Administration, Secretary McNamara instituted greater centralization in acquisition, though measures such as theTotal Package Procurement concept (TPP). This system shifted many major program management functions to the Pentagon. Stressing computer modeling, concurrency, and paper competitions among the contractors, TPP sharply curtailed the flexibility of Systems Command program managers. Cost overruns and serious technical difficulties in such TPP programs as theLockheed C-5 Galaxy andGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvark lead to drastic changes in DoD acquisition practices. In 1970, Deputy Secretary of DefenseDavid Packard revised many McNamara policies. He decentralized the acquisition system and reemphasized prototyping in weapons development.[2]
As theVietnam War dominated the late 1960s and early 1970s, AFSC focused on quick solutions to the needs of operational units in the war zone. Areas such asElectronic warfare (ECM) (Douglas EB-66 Destroyer) were greatly expanded in response toVietnam People's Air Forcesurface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. The modification of transports (AC-130 Hercules,AC-119 Flying Boxcar) into gunships, improved reconnaissance sensors, theDefense Meteorological Satellite Program,Forward Looking Infrared Sensors (FLIR), andPrecision-guided munitions all represented significant AFSC contributions to Vietnam air operations.[2]
The sustained growth of Soviet power after theCuban Missile Crisis challenged the entire spectrum of U.S. military capabilities. These factors led to a new wave of Air Force weapons development beginning in the late 1960s. Systems Command found itself managing a broad array of new tactical and strategic programs including theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle,General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II ground support aircraft, theLGM-118 Peacekeeper, theAGM-86 ALCM (air) andBGM-109 (ground) cruise missiles, theBoeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System, theBoeing C-17 Globemaster III transport, theRockwell B-1 Lancer bomber, and a new generation of orbitingReconnaissance satellites. These programs were the main activities of AFSC during the 1970s.[2]
With theReagan Administration's military buildup during the 1980s, the pace and scope of Air Force acquisition again escalated. Now the focus centered on the modernization of strategic systems which had atrophied during the Vietnam era and afterward. But increased activity and defense spending brought acquisition reform issues to the forefront. Cost, schedule, and quality problems troubled some major weapons programs.[2]Media stories about spare parts overpricing and questionable contractor overhead charges created a national sensation. This negative publicity, coupled with soaring federal deficits and reductions in domestic spending, contributed by the middle of the decade to a political backlash against Ronald Reagan's military programs. The situation gave enormous political impetus to reductions of defense spending and an overhaul of the nation's military establishment, including its weapons acquisition practices. AFSC led the way for acquisition improvements with greater reliance on multi-year contracting to stabilize weapons programs and increased investment in modernization programs for the defense industrial base.[2] On 26 April 1984 the vice-commander of AFSC, Lieutenant GeneralRobert M. Bond, was killed during a retirement visit to the6513th Test Squadron atGroom Lake while flying aMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 at over Mach 2.[26]
During this turbulent period, new and updated weapons systems continued to join the USAF. The B-1B Lancer was delivered to SAC in record time, though with significant problems that would hamper its service career for some time.[27] Stealth technology found its way to the ramps in the form of theF-117 Nighthawk fighter-bomber and theB-2 Spirit bomber. After theSpace Shuttle Challenger disaster, AFSC helped restore US space launch capability by quickly making available a family of newexpendable launch vehicles such as theDelta II. Major gains were made in operational readiness rates through the Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) 2000 program.[2]
With the 1992 reorganization of the Air Force, the functions of AFSC andAir Force Logistics Command (AFLC) were once again merged into the newAir Force Materiel Command (AFMC).[28]
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| No. | Image | Name | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gen.Bernard A. Schriever | 1961–1966 | Often considered originator and driver of the U.S. military space program. |
| 2 | .jpg) | Gen.James Ferguson | 1966–1970 | |
| 3 |  | Gen.George S. Brown | 1970–1973 |
|
| 4 |  | Gen.Samuel C. Phillips | 1973–1975 |
|
| 5 |  | Gen.William J. Evans | 1975–1977 |
|
| 6 |  | Gen.Lew Allen | 1977–1978 |
|
| 7 |  | Gen.Alton D. Slay | 1978–1981 | |
| 8 |  | Gen.Robert T. Marsh | 1981–1984 | |
| 9 |  | Gen.Lawrence A. Skantze | 1984–1987 | |
| 10 | .jpg) | Gen.Bernard P. Randolph | 1987–1990 | |
| 11 |  | Gen.Ronald W. Yates | 1990–1992 |
|
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency