498th Nuclear Systems Wing The 498th Nuclear Systems Wing ( 498 NSW ) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Kirtland Air Force Base , New Mexico . World War II . The wing was initially established as the 498th Bombardment Group , Very Heavy on 19 November 1943 . The group remained unmanned until it was activated on 20 November 1943 . The group was established at Clovis Army Air Field , New Mexico , and assigned to Second Air Force . It was to be a B - 29 Superfortress group . The unit was formed with four bomb squadrons ( 873d , 874th , 875th and 876th ) , all being newly - constituted . It moved to Great Bend Army Air Field , Kansas in December 1943 to begin training . Due to a shortage of B - 29s , the group was equipped with former II Bomber Command B - 17 Flying Fortress es already at Great Bend which were previously used for training heavy bomber replacement personnel . In the spring of 1944 , it finally received newly - manufactured B - 29 Superfortresses . In May shortages in aircraft and equipment led to the 876th Bomb Squadron being inactivated ( 10 May 1944 ) , with its personnel being consolidated into other group squadrons ( the 880th would be reactivated in August as part of the 383d Bombardment Group ) . The 498th Bombardment Group operated very heavy ( B - 29 Superfortress ) bombardment aircraft against Japan as part of Twentieth Air Force . Its aircraft were identified by a " T " and a square painted on the tail . As a three squadron group , the 498th Group moved to the Mariana Islands in the North Pacific in September 1944 , being assigned to the 73d Bombardment Wing , XXI Bomber Command , at Isely Field , Saipan . Upon arrival the group ' s personnel were engaged in Quonset hut construction . By mid - October most personnel were able to move into the huts from the initial tents in which they were accommodated on arrival . The group began operations with its first combat missions against Iwo Jima and the Truk Islands . Took part in the first attack ( 24 November 1944 ) on Japan by AAF planes based in the Marianas . Conducted numerous attacks against industrial targets in Japan , flying in daylight and at high altitude to carry out these missions . The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for striking an aircraft engine plant at Nagoya on 13 December 1944 . Began flying missions at night in March 1945 , operating from low altitude to drop incendiaries on area targets in Japan . The 498th BG received second DUC for incendiary raids . on urban industries near Kobe and Osaka during June 1945 . Operations also included strikes against Japanese airfields during the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945 . The group released propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands , July – August , continuing strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until the Japanese capitulation in August 1945 . In November 1945 the unit returned to the United States ; initially being assigned to Continental Air Forces ' s ( CAF ) Fourth Air Force at March Field , California . At March Field , the 514th Bombardment Squadron joined the group ; it previously being a Fifteenth Air Force B - 24 Liberator squadron based in Italy , having been returned to the United States in May and was undergoing B - 29 Very Heavy Bomber upgrade training in Nebraska when its former assigned group , the 376th Bombardment Group , was inactivated . In January 1946 , the 73d Bombardment Wing and the 498th Group under it was reassigned to the CAF Third Air Force at MacDill Field , Florida . It later was transferred to the new Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946 , being one of SAC ' s initial bombardment groups . Demobilization , however , was in full swing and the group turned in its aircraft and was inactivated on 4 August 1946 . The 514th and 875th Bombardment Squadrons ended their service with the group that day . Its B - 29 aircraft , personnel and equipment were retained , redesignated as the senior 307th Bombardment Group . The 307th Bombardment Group was activated at MacDill on the same day . Cold War . The unit was redesignated and reactivated as the 498th Tactical Missile Group at Kadena Air Base , Okinawa , on 16 September 1960 . It was organized on 8 Feb 1961 . It was equipped with the TM - 76B Mace surface - to - surface missile . The Mace was a third - generation tactical USAF missile , a follow - up of the MGM - 1 Matador which had been developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s from the World - War II - era Republic - Ford JB - 2 . Two of the unit ' s World War II bomb squadrons were reactivated , the 873d and 874th Tactical Missile Squadrons to man and operate the missile sites . The Group was assigned directly to Pacific Air Forces . The presence of the Mace missile was a sensitive matter between the United States and Japan , even though the United States still formally occupied Okinawa . The presence of the nuclear - armed Mace missile on Japanese soil was considered so sensitive that Secretary of Defense Robert S . McNamara directed in early 1962 that the existence of the TM - 76B weapons system on Okinawa " was not to be publicized in any way . " McNamara directed that the " missile , warhead section , and nose sections be transported to and from the launch sites under a canvas cover . " Fearing political maneuvering and protests from Communist sympathizers on Okinawa and in Japan , the 498th TMG was directed to be " identified by initials only . " The group ' s existence was short , as in 1965 , Secretary McNamara decided that the Army ' s MGM - 31 Pershing missile should replace the USAF ' s Mace , mainly because of the Pershing ' s high - speed launch ability . The unit was inactivated on 8 July 1969 , and the missiles returned to the United States and were expended as full - size target drones . Air Force Historical Research Agency records give the final formal date of inactivation as 31 December 1969 . 21st century . The wing was redesignated as 498 Armament Systems Wing on 14 Feb 2006 . It was activated on 31 Mar 2006 . Redesignated as 498 Nuclear Systems Wing on 1 April 2009 . The 498 NSW is responsible for integrating nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon system requirements and resources to deliver operational capabilities to the war - fighters . The wing ensures safe , secure , reliable and sustainable nuclear weapons , delivery support equipment and infrastructure are operationally ready to support national security requirements . As part of the Air Force Materiel Command , the 498 NSW partners and customers are : Air Force Global Strike Command , U . S . Air Forces in Europe , Air Mobility Command , Air Education and Training Command , NATO , U . S . European Command , U . S . Strategic Command , Air Force Safety Center , Defense Threat Reduction and Los Alamos , Sandia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories . Units . The 498th Munitions Maintenance Group squadrons perform in - depth maintenance on Air Force and Department of Energy assets from around the world . Their objective is to deliver all munitions and support to the correct location on time and in prime operating condition .