Electronic Systems Center Electronic Systems Center was a product center of Air Force Materiel Command ( AFMC ) headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base , Massachusetts . Its mission as to develop and acquire command and control , communications , computer , and intelligence systems . ESC consisted of professional teams specializing in engineering , computer science , and business management . The teams supervised the design , development , testing , production , and deployment of command and control systems . Two of ESC ' s most well - known developments were the Airborne Warning and Control System ( AWACS ) , developed in the 1970s , and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System ( JointSTARS ) , developed in the 1980s . The Electronic Systems Center recently entered its fifth decade as the Air Force ’ s organization for developing and acquiring Command and Control ( C2 ) systems . As of December 2004 , ESC managed approximately two hundred programs ranging from secure communications systems to mission planning systems . ESC has an annual budget of over $ 3 billion and more than eighty - seven hundred personnel . In addition to the Air Force , ESC works with other branches of the U . S . military , the North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) , the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) , the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) , the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ( NATO ) , and foreign governments . Due to restructuring within the Air Force Materiel Command , ESC will be inactivated no later than 1 October 2012 . History . ESC was originally activated as the Electronic Systems Division ( ESD ) on 1 April 1961 at Laurence G . Hanscom Field in Bedford , MA . ESD was placed under the newly established Air Force Systems Command . The Electronic Systems Division had emerged after a decade of efforts to meet a major post - war threat to the North American continent — attack by long - range , nuclear - armed bombers . At Hanscom Field , the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ’ s new Lincoln Laboratory ( 1951 ) and later the MITRE Corporation ( 1958 ) had worked to bring the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) air defense system to completion . The pioneering integrated RADAR and computer technology that was developed for SAGE also contributed significantly to the development of air traffic control systems . ESD had an original portfolio of thirteen Command , Control and Communications ( C3 ) systems . The appearance of ballistic missile s to carry nuclear warhead s spurred a second wave of defense efforts — the construction of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System ( BMEWS ) and a survivable new command center for the North American Air Defense Command deep under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado . New weapons systems and space platforms led to enlarged ESD C3 programs . ESD ’ s first RADAR systems were ground - based , but in the 1960s the organization expanded into airborne RADAR systems . In overcoming the “ ground clutter ” problem , the 1970s Airborne Warning and Control System ( AWACS ) represented a technological achievement for airspace surveillance . It was joined in the later 1980s by the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System ( Joint STARS ) . While still under development , Joint STARS was pressed into service for the Gulf War to monitor movement on the battlefield . Other ESD programs focused on creating secure communications systems , air defense systems for allied nations , command centers , intelligence data transmission , air traffic control systems , and computer - based training systems . In 1992 , the Air Force Systems Command and the Air Force Logistics Command were merged to form the Air Force Materiel Command ( AFMC ) . ESD was re - designated the Electronic Systems Center ( ESC ) , and the organization was placed under the new AFMC . Two years later , ESC was enlarged to become the AFMC Center of Excellence for Command and Control , with headquarters at Hanscom . Several geographically - separated units were added to the Center . Currently , the 66th Air Base Wing , 350th Electronic Systems Wing , 551st Electronic Systems Wing , 554th Electronic Systems Wing , and 653d Electronic Systems Wing all report to the ESC Commander . Since the later years of the Cold War , ESC has worked to upgrade its key RADAR , command center , and communications systems . The decade of the 1990s presented new challenges for the expanded Center in the form of regional conflicts , joint and coalition engagements , terrorism , and asymmetric warfare . In response , ESC developed programs to work towards integration and interoperability in C2 systems . By presenting systems in action via several interactive C2 demonstrations , ESC engaged in ongoing dialogue with its customers . The Center then undertook a major restructure of its acquisition processes starting in 1996 . “ Spiral development ” was introduced to achieve state - of - the - art systems in a timely , flexible , and cost - effective approach . The pace of these initiatives had gained momentum by the start of the 21st century . Center programs developed automated systems for Air Tasking Order s , weather , mission planning , and management information , together with enhanced force protection for Air Force personnel on the ground . For the series of Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment s ( JEFX ) starting in 1998 , ESC managed the insertion of new C2 and information technology . At the same time , its work on standardizing C2 infrastructure and creating architectures laid the groundwork for further system integration . In 2001 , the Air Force gave ESC the lead responsibility to integrate its command and control , intelligence , surveillance , and reconnaissance systems — the C2 Enterprise Integration . Integrated C2ISR capabilities will enable the development of network - centric warfare and provide an asymmetric force advantage . Today , ESC is pursuing a major initiative to standardize and upgrade C2ISR capabilities at Air Operations Center s , with the goal of realizing the Aerospace Operations Center of the future . Due to a major Air Force Materiel Command ( AFMC ) restructuring announced on 2 November 2011 , ESC will be inactivated no later than 1 October 2012 . The role of ESC , along with the Aeronautical Systems Center ( ASC ) and the Air Armament Center ( AAC ) , will be consolidated into the new Air Force Life Cycle Management Center ( LCMC ) . This , along with other measures , will save up to $ 109 million for the Air Force annually . The new LCMC will be headquartered at Wright - Patterson AFB . The highest - ranking officer at Hanscom AFB after the reorganization will be a major general , who will be the Program Executive Officer for the C3I and Networks AFPEO . The main purpose of the reorganization is to eliminate excess headquarter and staff type positions throughout AFMC . ESC transition ceremony took place 16 July 2012 , Hanscom AFB is now officially part of the AFLCMC . References . " This article contains information that originally came from a US Government website , in the public domain . "