21st Space Wing The 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base , Colorado . The unit is tasked with the operation of early missile warning and space object detection equipment around the world in support of NORAD and USSTRATCOM through a network of command and control units and ground based sensors operated by geographically separated units around the world . The Wing ’ s services include more than 9 , 000 government and contractor personnel who detect , track and catalog more than 14 , 000 catalogued man - made objects in space , from those in near - Earth orbit to objects up to 22 , 300 miles above the Earth ' s surface and explores counterspace warfighting technologies in the field . On 12 August 2013 , the Wing was told that it would stop operation of the aging Air Force Space Surveillance Systems by October due to budget cuts . Mission . Conduct world class space superiority operations and provide unsurpassed installation support and protection while deploying Warrior Airmen . Operations . The 21 SW operate and maintain a complex system of U . S . and foreign - based radars that detect and track ballistic missile launches , launches of new space systems , and provide data on foreign ballistic missile events through its communication and control with CMAS , TABG , CAFS , and CCAFS . Ballistic missile warning allows the US to monitor at least 20 nations that currently have nuclear , biological or chemical weapons , and the technology to deliver them over long distances , including some with the ability to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles at the United States . The 21st Operations Group manages all operation units in the 21st Space Wing . The Wing ' s ground - based radars are : a sea - launched ballistic missile or SLBM , the PAVE PAWS warning system ; a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System , or BMEWS ; and a Perimeter Attack Radar Characterization System , or PARCS . SLBM warning units are the 6th SWS , Cape Cod AFS , Mass . , and the 7th SWS , Beale AFB , Calif . Their mission is mainly to watch America ' s coasts for incoming sea - launched or intercontinental ballistic missiles , and warn NORAD and NORTHCOM . The wing ' s two BMEWS radar units are the 12th Space Warning Squadron , Thule AB , and the 13th Space Warning Squadron at Clear AFS . The 21st SW also has a detachment at RAF Fylingdales , U . K . , to coordinate cooperative missile warning and space surveillance with Royal Air Force counterparts . The wing ' s PARCS unit is the 10th Space Warning Squadron , Cavalier AFS , N . D . Space control . Space surveillance is a critical element of the space control mission and will be vitally important to support future theater missile operations and assured availability of U . S . space forces . As part of the space surveillance mission , the wing operates surveillance units . More than 9 , 500 manmade objects in orbit around the earth , ranging in size from a baseball to the International Space Station , are regularly tracked . Knowing the orbits of those objects is essential to prevent collisions when a new satellite is launched . The 20th Space Control Squadron , Eglin AFB , Fla . , provides dedicated active radar space surveillance . In addition , other collateral and contributing missile warning and research radars are used to support the surveillance mission . Units . Besides the three major commands , the Wing directs and supports Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station ( CMAFS ) ; Thule Air Base ( TABG ) , Greenland ; Clear AFS ( CAFS ) , Alaska , and Cape Cod AFS ( CCAFS ) , Mass . The 21st also provides community support to 302d Airlift Wing ( AFRC ) , the 50th Space Wing , Schriever AFB , Colo and to its neighbors in the Colorado Springs area . History . On 1 January 1953 the 21st Fighter - Bomber Wing as part of Tactical Air Command at George AFB , California . The wing was activated following Secretary of State John Foster Dulles ' promise to provide NATO with four additional tactical fighter wings to increase its defenses against the Soviet Union due to the outbreak of the Cold War . The wing ' s operational component was the 21st Fighter - Bomber Group , comprised three fighter - bomber squadrons : the 72d , 416th , and 531st . The 72d and 531st previously had been components of the World War II 21st Fighter Group . During its first six months , the 21st Fighter - Bomber Wing upgraded from the F - 51 to the F - 86F “ Sabrejet , ” which had become famous for its prowess in the Korean War . Throughout 1953 and into the first months of 1954 , the 21st participated in a series of tactical exercises through which the unit obtained operational readiness . As part of the training for operational duty , the 21st FBW conducted deployment exercises to Alaska in September and October 1953 when the flying squadrons , in tandem , rotated through a special two - week arctic indoctrination program at Eielson AFB . Next , the 21st sent six of its F - 86s to participate in Project Willtour , an 11 , 000 mile goodwill and training tour of twelve Central , Caribbean , and South American countries . The wing continued its exercises in Operation BOXKITE , held throughout April and into May 1954 at North Field , South Carolina . BOXKITE tested a new operational concept : the ability of a tactical wing to deploy to a forward base and sustain combat operations over a thirty - day period . In response , the 21st flew 3 , 000 sorties . United States Air Forces in Europe . BOXKITE was the last significant stateside exercise , for on 22 June 1954 , the Secretary of the Air Force announced that the 21st would be relocating to Chambley Air Base , France , as part of Twelfth Air Force and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) which had taken a defensive stance against the Warsaw Pact headed by the Soviet Union . Chambley Air Base was located about ten miles west of the French city of Metz , and just south of the road leading to Verdun near France ’ s strategic northeastern border with Luxembourg , Belgium , and West Germany . The wing ’ s deployment from George AFB , California , to France had to be carried out in stages . Four echelons of wing personnel variously traveled by train , ship , and air to reach their destination between November 1954 and January 1955 . The air squadrons stopped to refuel across the United States and in Labrador , Greenland , Iceland , and Scotland in route . Upon their arrival , the facilities at Chambley were not ready for aircraft use , and the squadrons had to deploy elsewhere while engineers upgraded the modest facilities at Chambley . The 72d deployed to Chateauroux AB , while the 416th and 531st operated out of Toul - Rosieres AB . After many construction delays , the wing combined its fighter squadrons at Chambley on 15 April 1955 . The squadrons carried out close air support training missions with the Army , then took first place at the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) " Gunnery Meet " at Wheelus Air Base , Libya . The 21 FBW participated in the Atomic Warfare exercise Carte Blanche , and went on to take an overall second place in the Nellis AFB , Nevada Gunnery Meet in 1956 . Moreover , they won the USAFE Award for Tactical Proficiency for the January – June period of 1957 . In 1957 , the French Government decreed that all nuclear weapons and delivery aircraft had to be removed from French soil by July 1958 . As a result , the F - 86 ' s of the 21st Fighter - Bomber Wing had to be removed from France . During October 1957 it was announced that the 21 FBW would be inactivated on 8 February 1958 , and that its assets would be dispersed among existing USAFE units . With the departure of the wing , Chambley - Bussieres AB was placed in reserve status . Pacific Air Forces . The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Misawa AB , Japan a few months later on 1 July 1958 , inheriting the lineage of the 21st FBW . The mission of the 21st TFW included defending the air space of northern Japan against Soviet intruders and planning for strategic bombardment in the event a new war broke out with North Korea ( known as contingency plan “ Quick Strike ” ) . Operational squadrons of the 21st included the 416th and 531st Tactical Fighter Squadrons . Initially , the 416th TFS carried out the war - fighting missions in the F - 84G Thunderjet , a single - seat fighter - bomber . The Thunderjet was the first fighter equipped to deliver non - conventional ordnance as well as the first capable of refueling in - flight . Meanwhile , the 531st prepared to upgrade to the F - 100D Super Sabre , the world ’ s first supersonic aircraft . Once combat ready in April 1959 , the 531st assumed the wing ’ s war - fighting missions while the 416th converted to the Supersabre in turn . Remarkably , the 416th achieved full operational status in August 1959 . Cooperation between the wing ’ s units paid off in Fifth Air Force ’ s Tactical Evaluation and Operational Readiness Inspection held in August and September 1959 . The 21st garnered an “ Excellent ” rating and carried off the best bomb score average in the history of Fifth Air Force . Operational readiness and high marks in training translated directly into the field . 21st TFW aircraft intercepted Soviet Tupolev Tu - 16 " Badger " and Myasishchev M - 4 " Bison " bombers on a regular basis , taking home , in the words of Intelligence analysts , “ some of the best photographs ever taken of the Badger . ” In October 1959 , First Lieutenant Charles L . Ferguson of the 531st received credit for making the first M - 4 Bison intercept in the Far East and probably the world . The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing also flew beyond the base at Misawa . In addition to routine alert commitments and deployments to South Korea , two F - 100s from the 531st made the first American jet aircraft transpolar flight , flying from RAF Wethersfield , England , to Eielson AFB , Alaska , on 7 August 1959 . Once more , however , the accomplishments of the 21st came to a temporary halt when the U . S . government placed a ceiling on the number of fighter wings allowed in the Air Force inventory . Consequently , Fifth Air Force undertook an extensive reorganization . The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing inactivated on 18 June 1960 and its assets were transferred to the 39th Air Division at Misawa AB . Alaskan Air Command . 21st Composite Wing . The 21st activated again as the 21st Composite Wing ( CW ) on 8 July 1966 at Elmendorf AFB , Alaska , and was assigned to Alaskan Air Command ( AAC ) . AAC itself was a component of the Continental Air Defense Command ( CONAD ) , which had been formed in 1954 , and the Alaska Region Command of the North American Air Defense Command ( NORAD ) which had been formed in 1957 . The 21st activated as an intermediate headquarters that could tie together and manage several missions critical to Alaskan Air Command . Components of the 21 CW carried out the wing ’ s three primary missions : air defense ( 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron ) , airlift ( 17th Troop Carrier Squadron , known from 1967 as the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron ) , and search and rescue ( 21st Operations Squadron ) . The 21st Operations Squadron ( OSS ) , utilized H - 21 helicopters for search and rescue work and employed C - 47 , C - 54 , and C - 118 aircraft to assist with the mission of airlift . The 17th Troop Carrier / Tactical Airlift Squadron provided logistical airlift ( with its C - 130 Hercules aircraft ) . The 17th supported the various U . S . Army and AAC aircraft control and warning sites , and permanently stationed two C - 130s on skis at Sondrestrom Air Base , Greenland , in support of the Distant Early Warning Line sites ( DEW ) . The 317th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron ( FIS ) carried out the mission of air defense for the wing . The 317th kept two of its F - 102A Delta Dagger aircraft on alert at each of the following locations : Elmendorf and Eielson Air Force Base s , and King Salmon and Galena Airports . The 317th was one of the premier squadrons of its day , being the only unit to have won the prestigious Hughes Achievement Trophy ( given for the best fighter unit with an active air defense mission ) three times during its operational service . The F - 102s , unfortunately , were technologically outdated , a fact that made long - range interception of Soviet intruders into Alaskan airspace by 317th crews increasingly difficult . AAC recognized the limitations of this aerial platform and repeatedly tried to secure the more advanced F - 4 Phantom II for air defense . The Vietnam War , however , had first call for the F - 4 . For a few years , therefore , Air Defense Command ( ADC ) dispatched F - 106 Delta Dart s from other states on a rotational basis to Alaska to help correct this mission limitation . The situation came to a head late in 1969 when the Air Force announced the inactivation of the 317th due to the squadron ’ s aging F - 102s and the need to respond to budget cuts imposed by the cost of the war in Southeast Asia . Nevertheless , the Air Force compensated the 21st by assigning the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron , which flew F - 4Es , to the wing on 13 March 1970 . The 43d departed MacDill AFB , Florida and arrived at Elmendorf on 23 June 1970 . Consequently , the rotational F - 106 deployments from the lower continental states ceased soon after the 43d assumed mission responsibilities at Elmendorf , Eielson , Galena and King Salmon on 1 August . Unfortunately , the winter of 1970 - 1971 was severe in Alaska , causing numerous mechanical failures in the F - 4s which had been accustomed to Florida ’ s warm climate . At times , the wing ’ s operational air defense assets dwindled from eighteen aircraft to only one or two . Moreover , the 43d assumed close air support as well as air defense responsibilities , two missions which stretched the squadron ’ s capabilities . In response , Air Staff sent the 43d an additional six aircraft in May 1971 . Despite these initial handicaps , the 21 CW quickly proved itself a leader in the fighter community , conducting alerts , intercepts and exercises throughout the 1970s . In July 1972 the wing dispatched a detachment to Operation COOL SHOOT , a live missile firing exercise , held at Tyndall AFB , Florida . Air Force Headquarters awarded the 43d the coveted Hughes Achievement Trophy in December . Meanwhile , the 21 CW continued to intercept Soviet intruders into Alaskan airspace . Exercises in 1976 included JACK FROST ( later known as BRIM FROST ) , and a Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) Weapons System Evaluation Program at Eglin AFB , Florida . At the William Tell fighter weapons competition held in October – November 1976 at Tyndall , the wing won “ Best F - 4 Crew ” , “ Best Maintenance Crew , ” the Apple Splitter Award for the most drones destroyed , the Top Gun Award , and only narrowly missed overall first place due to a sudden mission abort . The 43d again won the Hughes Achievement Trophy in 1977 . Training deployments included the Canadian Maple Flag in September 1978 and Red Flag in April 1979 . Organizational changes also underscored the 1970s . Due to a realignment of airlift and rescue forces under the Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) , the wing divested its helicopters and C - 130s in 1975 . Overall , however , the wing expanded , gaining two air base squadrons and several other responsibilities . The 21 CW picked up a new fighter unit on 1 October 1977 when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron ( F - 4Es ) activated . Subsequently , the 43d maintained its air defense mission while the 18th adopted the role of close air support . Both units shared air defense alert duties in Alaska . Additionally , from November 1977 to April 1979 , the 21 CW controlled all thirteen of Alaska ’ s air control and warning sites . Then , in May 1979 , Colonel Michael E . Nelson , 21st Composite Wing commander , initiated a study that concluded that his unit should be streamlined into a normal tactical fighter wing . 21st Tactical Fighter Wing . On 1 October 1979 the wing was redesignated as the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing as a result of the study , which was accepted by Alaskan Air Command . The name change reflected a period of growth and modernization of Elmendorf AFB . The mixed bag of aircraft from the old Composite Wing dispersed , leaving 40 F - 4Es , 12 T - 33s , and a C - 12 at Elmendorf AFB , Alaska . The F - 4s were distributed between the wing ’ s two flying components , the 18th and 43d Tactical Fighter Squadrons , while the T - 33 trainers and the C - 12 merged into the 5021st Tactical Operations Squadron . The F - 4s of the streamlined wing soon deployed to Chong Ju Air Base , Republic of Korea for Exercise “ TEAM SPIRIT . ” During March 1980 the wing participated in dissimilar air combat training ( DACT ) and conducted combat air patrol , air interdiction and composite force tactics . TEAM SPIRIT proved to be the last exercise for the 21st ’ s F - 4s . Later that year the Air Force released plans to replace the F - 4Es stationed in Alaska with F - 15A fighters , which were slated to go to the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron , and A - 10 close air support aircraft , which were earmarked for the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron . In fact , the arrival of the A - 10s heralded the reassignment of the 18th from the 21st to the 343d Composite Wing at Eielson AFB , Alaska . The first F - 15 arrived at Elmendorf in March , and the last of the new aircraft were in place by October . Thanks to special bomb - delivery air - to - surface training carried out in the T - 33s , the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing became the first flying unit to reach initial operating capability ( IOC ) in the F - 15 without the assistance of the aircraft manufacturer or a sister flying unit . The 21st made its first intercept of a Soviet intruder , a Tu - 95 Bear C , when a pair of F - 15s sortied from alert at King Salmon Airport on 24 November 1982 . Over the next four years , the F - 15s undertook several deployments and exercises such as “ BRIM FROST , ” a U . S . Readiness Command biennial Arctic exercise , and “ TEAM SPIRIT ” held in Japan and the Republic of Korea in 1985 . The 21st conducted joint training exercises along the northern continental frontier with the Canadians . All the while , the wing intercepted Soviet bomber , transport , and maritime reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea . This creditable service continued throughout the late 1980s from the William Tell Air - to - Air Weapons meets to COMBAT ARCHER to DACT training to the Air Force ’ s “ live - fire ” Weapon System Evaluation Programs . During one exercise at the remote site known as Deadhorse , Alaska , three F - 15s became the first Alaskan - based single - seat fighters to circle the North Pole . The 21st received newer aircraft , its first F - 15Cs and Ds , in May 1987 . The wing hosted multiple distinguished visitors in 1989 . President George Bush stopped at Elmendorf in route to Japan for the state funeral of Japanese Emperor Hirohito and addressed a crowd of over 7 , 000 in Hangar Five . Ironically , this was the same hangar in which President Richard Nixon had greeted Hirohito eighteen years previously when the emperor had made his first official state visit outside his native land . Later that year , the wing expanded into the escort rather than only the intercept business . Two Soviet MiG - 29 “ Fulcrum ” aircraft , which were traveling to their first air show in North America , officially visited the 21st at Elmendorf , not only to refuel , but as a gesture of goodwill . This event marked the first time the MiG - 29 fighters landed on the continent , and the 21st ’ s aircraft were there to escort them in , help them refuel , and play host . The final upgrade of the 21st fighter inventory came with the addition of the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron and the F - 15E “ Strike Eagle ” in May 1991 . In 1991 , the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing was reorganized as an objective wing and all the major tenant units on Elmendorf were placed under it . The 21st Wing was inactivated and the 3d Wing was reassigned from the closing Clark Air Base , Philippines to Elmendorf Air Force Base , Alaska on 19 December 1991 . This was in keeping Air Force ' s polices of retaining the oldest and most illustrious units during a period of major force reductions . Modern era . The 21st Space Wing was reactivated on 15 May 1992 from the former 1st Space Wing and 3d Space Support Wing at Peterson AFB , Colorado ( both previously located at Peterson AFB ) , providing command management of Air Force Space Command ' s worldwide network of assigned missile warning , space surveillance , and communications units . The missile warning network had operated under the direction of Air Defense Command ( later Aerospace Defense Command ) and Strategic Air Command since the early 1960s . The network then passed under the aegis of Air Force Space Command when that command activated in September 1982 . Upon activation , the primary wing mission was ICBM warning though Defense Satellite Program ( DSP ) . DSP is a constellation of geosynchronous satellites equipped with infrared detectors to help locate and identify ballistic missile and nuclear testing activities around the world . If missile warning had remained the only primary mission of the 21st Space Wing , the wing still would have been one of the largest in the Air Force . However , in April 1995 , the 73d Space Surveillance Group merged with the 21st Space Wing . With the 73d came a new primary mission , that of space surveillance though a series of radar stations located throughout the world . The 21st Space Wing also inherited the Ground - Based Electro - Optical Deep Space Surveillance System ( GEODSS ) . GEODSS sites began opening in May 1982 , first at Socorro , New Mexico , then at Maui , Hawaii , Choejong - San , Republic of Korea ( soon to close in 1990 ) , and finally at Diego Garcia , British Indian Ocean Territory , in 1987 . These advanced electro - optical telescopic cameras operate in the arena of space tracking , and allowed deep - space surveillance and space - object identification . Deep Space Tracking System and Low Altitude Space Surveillance Systems ( DSTS / LASS ) provided additional global coverage of space activities for the Air Force . The wing additionally operated the command and control network used to relay missile warning and surveillance information from sites dispersed around the world to HQ AFSPC , USSPACECOM , and NORAD . Air Force Space Command had identified the need for a mobile and hence more survivable command and control unit in 1989 , a system which first would be called RAPIER , and which later would became known as the Mobile Command and Control Center ( MCCC ) . The events of 11 September 2001 challenged America to respond to terrorism worldwide . President George W . Bush ordered strikes against Al - Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan in October , and followed - up with an assault on Saddam Hussein ’ s regime in Iraq in March and April 2003 . The wing deployed personnel overseas and tightened security at GSUs and Peterson AFB . Components . Groups Squadrons