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| 527th Space Aggressor Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Squadron emblem | |
| Active | 1942–1946; 1946–1956; 1976–1990; 2000-present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Space Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Space Adversary Tactics |
| Part of | Space Delta 11 |
| Garrison/HQ | Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado |
| Nickname(s) | Aggressors |
| Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt Col Shawn "Happy" Green |
| Insignia | |
| 527th Space Aggressor Squadron emblem(approved 5 January 2001) |  |
| 527th Aggressor Squadron emblem |  |
| 312th Bombardment Squadron emblem(approved 11 January 1943)[2] | _emblem.png) |
The527th Space Aggressor Squadron is aUnited States Space Force unit assigned to theSpace Training and Readiness Command. The unit traces its lineage to the 312th Bombardment Squadron (Light) constituted in 1942. It presents realistic adversary threats to US and allied military forces to improve their training for space-associated operations. It is stationed atSchriever Space Force Base,Colorado. Its present form dates from its activation as part of theUnited States Air Force in 2000. That year it was activated as part of the Space Warfare Centre, but it was then transferred to the57th Adversary Tactics Group in 2006. The mission was augmented with the activation of a United States Air Force Reserve associate unit, the26th Space Aggressor Squadron, on 1 October 2003.[3] With the formation of the Space Force in 2019, the squadron was part of the second wave of transfers and reorganizations which took place in mid-2020. It was realigned underSpace Delta 11 upon that organizations activation in 2021.[4]
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Its mission is to train US, joint and allied military forces for combat with space-capable adversaries; preparing USAF, Joint and Allied Forces for combat through realistic threat replication, training, and feedback through specialized and certified space-capable aggressors. It operates adversary space systems, develops new tactics, techniques and procedures to counter threats, and improves the US military space posture.
The squadron attempts to replicate enemy threats to space-based and space-enabled systems during tests and training exercises. By usingGlobal Positioning System (GPS) and satellite communications jamming techniques, it provides Space Force, joint and coalition military personnel with an understanding of how to recognize, mitigate, counter and defeat these threats.
The 527th serves to know, teach and replicate a wide array of terrestrial and space threats to theU.S. Department of Defense's space enablers. The squadron trains the modern warfighter to operate in an environment where critical systems like GPS and SATCOM are interfered with or denied—preparing them for the current and future fights, and guaranteeing U.S. battlefield dominance well into the 21st century.
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Initially activated as the 312th Bombardment Squadron, aDouglas A-20 Havoclight bomber squadron in the southeast, trained under Third Air Force. Was reequipped as aDouglas A-24 Banshee fighter-bomber squadron and redesignated as the527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in August 1943.
Was deployed toTwelfth Air Force inNorth Africa in May 1943, being initially stationed in Algeria. Flying operations began 15 May fromMédiouna Airfield, nearCasablanca,French Morocco. Moved eastward supporting the Fifth Army with close air support missions. In theNorth African Campaign, the squadron engagedGerman positions in Tunisia.
In July, initial elements of the squadron moved to Sicily. From theGela Airfield, begin flying combat missions, supporting the 1st Division ofII Army Corps. On 27 August, the squadron provided air support for the firstAllied landings on the European mainland atSalerno, Italy. On 10 September, three days after the invasion of Salerno, advance echelons of the squadron moved toSele Airfield, near the beachhead. Enemy shelling of the beaches caused considerable difficulty during the move, and the 5527th did not fly its first missions until 15 September.
Moved north through Italy during theItalian Campaign, supportedAllied forces by attacking enemy lines of communication, troop concentrations and supply areas. In April 1944 the squadron attacked the GermanGustav Line. It also attacked rail and road targets and strafed German troop and supply columns during late spring.
The 527th was an active participant inOperation Strangle, the attempt to cut German supply lines prior to the Allied offensive aimed at rail and road networks, and attacking German troop and supply columns. While Strangle did not significantly cut into German supplies, it did disrupt enemy tactical mobility and was a major factor in the Allies' eventual breakthrough. During this period the 527th receivedCurtiss P-40 Warhawks to augment its aging A-36s, but the obsolescent P-40s were only a stopgap measure. The 527th welcomed its firstRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts a few weeks later, on 23 June.
Moved toCorsica in July 1944. From Poretta Airfield, the squadron flew bombing missions against coastal defenses in direct support ofOperation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France 15 Aug. 1944. Allied forces met little resistance as they moved inland twenty miles in the first twenty-four hours. Once the invasion was completed, the squadron moved back to northern Italy and continued its coastal basing by attacking enemy road and rail networks in northern Italy and, for the first time, flying regular escort missions with heavy bombers. The 527th also conducted armed reconnaissance against the enemy in thePo Valley region.
The 527th continued combat in northern Italy until February 1945, when it left theMediterranean Theater and moved toTantonville Airfield, France, in theLorraine region, and operations shifted from targets in the Po Valley to those in southern Germany. The 527th's first mission to Germany – a cause of some excitement – was on 25 Feb. 1945, and by March most missions were flown into Germany against rail lines, roads, supply dumps, enemy installations and airfields. The squadron transferred from Tantonville toBraunshardt Airfield, nearDarmstadt, Germany,
The 527th Fighter Squadron flew its final combat mission on 8 May 1945.
Just after the war, the squadron performed military occupation duty in Germany, with personnel demobilizing throughout the summer. The squadron's last personnel were sent back to the United States from AAF Station Schweinfurt, Germany, on 15 February 1946, with the squadron inactivated as an administrative unit in March.
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The squadron was reactivated in the postwar era 20 August 1946 atAAF Station Nordholz, Germany equipped with surplus P-47 Thunderbolts from storage depots in Europe. Over the next several years, the squadron underwent several redesignations and several station assignments in occupied Germany. In June 1948, the squadron was moved toNeubiberg Air Base, nearMunich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in theBerlin Blockade. By 1948, it was obvious that the piston-engine Thunderbolts would be no match for Soviet jet fighters, and in early 1950 the squadron was re-equipped withRepublic F-84E Thunderjets for air defense of the Munich area.
With the arrival of the jet age in Europe, USAFE wanted to move its units west of theRhine River, as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from SovietMiG-15 bases in Czechoslovakia. The squadron relocated to a new base, located west of the Rhine River nearKaiserslautern, West Germany in 1952.Landstuhl Air Base opened for operations on 5 August 1952, and the 527th Fighter Bomber Squadron arrived on 21 August.
In April 1953, the 527th completed its move to Landstuhl and was soon reequipped with theNorth American F-86F Sabre Jet, the first unit in USAFE to fly the most modern American fighter. The F-86F had been very successful as both a fighter and fighter bomber in the Korean War, and marked a quantum increase in the Wing's capabilities.
A year later the squadron was redesignated the527th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and assumed a new mission of air defense for the central European region. For this mission, the squadron was re-equipped with the rocket-armedNorth American F-86D Sabre interceptor which provided an all-weather capability
The 527th was inactivated on 8 Feb 1956 in a reorganization of air defense forces in West Germany by USAFE, with personnel and equipment transferring to the461st Fighter-Day Squadron.
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In April 1976, the squadron was reactivated atRAF Alconbury, England as the527th Tactical Fighter Training and Aggressor Squadron, becoming theUnited States Air Forces in Europe's (USAFE) onlyaggressor squadron. The 527th began providing aggressor support to European-based combat units in September. Its mission was to train USAFEfighter pilots for air combat withEastern Bloc adversaries usingDissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT).
The squadron was equipped with theNorthrop F-5E Tiger II, being originally part of an order of aircraft destined forSouth Vietnam. The first batch of eight aircraft were air-freighted into Alconbury on 21 May 1976 on board aLockheed C-5A Galaxy direct from the production facility atPalmdale,California. Eight more Tigers arrived on 14 June with the final batch of four following ten days later, on 24 June. These aircraft were also airfreighted on board a C-5A. The 527th was fully operational a few months later with the first DACT course commencing in October 1976
The aggressor F-5Es were painted in a variety of colourful camouflage schemes designed to mimic those in use byWarsaw Pact aircraft. Two-digitSoviet-style nose codes were applied to most aggressor aircraft. These coincided with the last two digits of the serial number. When there was duplication, three digits were used.
International conventions made it necessary for military aircraft to carry theirnational insignia, but the star-and-bar national insignia was reduced in size and relocated to a less-conspicuous position on the rear fuselage. The 527th's Aggressor aircraft were among the first to apply the star and bar in toned-down or stencil form, now standard on USAF aircraft.
The 527th Aggressors flew their aircraft in intense turns and other maneuvers as their mission involved intense combat fighter training, often involvinghigh-G turns atsupersonic speeds. The Aggressors trained both United States Air Force squadrons in Soviet fighter tactics, but deployed frequently to otherNATO airfields, training pilots fromNorway toGreece andTurkey,France,West Germany and theLow Countries in combat tactics.
After 12 years of intense flying, in 1988 the fleet of aggressor F-5Es were getting rather worn out as a result of sustained exposure to the rigours ofair combat manoeuvring. There were restrictions placed on operations in which pilots were warned not to exceed a certain G-load. Some repair kits had to be devised to overcome these problems, and the estimated cost of repair of the entire fleet was beginning to exceed a billion dollars. In addition, with the appearance of a new generation of Soviet fighters, it became apparent that F-5Es could no longer adequately mimic Warsaw Pact threats.
It was decided to re-equip the squadron withGeneral Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcons and move the squadron toRAF Bentwaters. In return, theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II's at Bentwaters would move to Alconbury and give the10th Tactical Fighter Wing a newclose air support mission.
After the 527th was reassigned, eight of the lowest-hour F-5E's were transferred to theUnited States Navy forTOPGUN aggressor training atNaval Air Station Miramar, California in July 1988. The remainder were sent to storage atRAF Kemble for refurbishing. From there they were sold under the foreign military assistance program toMorocco andTunisia in October 1989. One F-5E was thought to be retained at Alconbury for static display as a gate guard. In reality this is a plastic/fiberglass model with an authentic windscreen and canopy.
The 527th flew its last F-5E sortie from Alconbury on 22 June 1988 and personnel and equipment was moved to RAF Bentwaters. The first two of an intended complement of eighteen F-16Cs arrived at Bentwaters on 14 June 1988. These were single examples taken from the52d Tactical Fighter Wing atSpangdahlem Air Base, West Germany and the86th Tactical Fighter Wing atRamstein Air Base. The first four months at Bentwaters were dedicated to pilot conversion for the new aircraft.
The 527th AS resumed their aggressor role in November 1988 when sixMcDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles from the36th Tactical Fighter Wing atBitburg Air Base, Germany arrived at Bentwaters for the start of a three-week DACT course. The 527th's complement of aircraft had reached twelve on 16 January 1989 when one more F-16C was delivered from Spangdahlem.
In 1989 with theFall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of theWarsaw Pact and a reduction of defense spending, the decision was made to terminate the entire USAF aggressor program. In November 1989 the squadron began disposing of its F-16Cs in preparation for inactivation the following year. The first two aircraft to leave were flown to Spangdahlem on 29 November 1989. The 527th had reassigned its entire fleet of 12 aircraft by mid-1990 and was inactivated on 30 September 1990. It was to be the only F-16 unit ever to be based in the United Kingdom.
The 527th was not activated again until 29 September 2000 when it became the527th Space Aggressor Squadron. On 14 April 2006 the squadron moved from underAir Force Space Command toAir Combat Command. In 2006 it began reporting to the57th Adversary Tactics Group of the57th Wing.[5]
On 24 July 2020 the 527th Aggressor Squadron was transferred to the United States Space Force.[6]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Media related to527th Space Aggressor Squadron at Wikimedia Commons
