527th Space Aggressor Squadron The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron ( 527 SAS ) is a non - flying United States Air Force unit assigned to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group . The 527 SAS is stationed at Schriever Air Force Base , Colorado , being a Geographically Separated Unit ( GSU ) of the 57 ATG , which is stationed at Nellis AFB , Nevada . Mission . 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 using Global Positioning System and satellite communications jamming techniques , it provides Air Force , joint and coalition military personnel with an understanding of how to recognize , mitigate , counter and defeat these threats . The 527 SAS serves to know , teach and replicate a wide array of terrestrial and space threats to the U . S . military ' 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 . History . World War II . Initially activated as an A - 20 Havoc dive - bomber squadron in the southeast , trained under Third Air Force . Was realigned to an A - 24 Banshee fighter - bomber squadron and re - designated from the 312th to 527th Fighter - Bomber Squadron in August 1943 . Was deployed to Twelfth Air Force in North Africa in May 1943 , being initially stationed in Algeria . Flying operations began 15 May from Médiouna Airfield , near Casablanca , French Morocco . Moved eastward supporting the Fifth Army with close air support missions . In the North African Campaign , the squadron engaged German positions in Tunisia In July , initial elements of the squadron moved to Sicily . From the Gela West airfield , begin flying combat missions , supporting the 1st Division of II Army Corps . On 27 August , the squadron provided air support for the first Allied landings on the European mainland at Salerno , Italy . On 10 September , three days after the invasion of Salerno , advance echelons of the squadron moved to Sele 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 the Italian Campaign , supported Allied forces by attacking enemy lines of communication , troop concentrations and supply areas . In April 1944 the squadron attacked the German Gustav Line . It also attacked rail and road targets and strafed German troop and supply columns during late spring . The 527th was an active participant in Operation 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 received P - 40 Warhawk s to augment its aging A - 36s , but the obsolescent P - 40s were only a stopgap measure . The 527th welcomed its first P - 47 Thunderbolt s a few weeks later , on 23 June . Moved to Corsica in July 1944 . From Poretta Airfield , the squadron flew bombing missions against coastal defenses in direct support of Operation 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 the Po Valley region . The 527th continued combat in northern Italy until February 1945 , when it left the Mediterranean Theater and moved to Tantonville Airfield ( Y - 1 ) , France , in the Lorraine 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 to Braunshardt Airfield ( R - 12 ) , near Darmstadt , 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 . Cold War . The squadron was reactivated in the postwar era 20 August 1946 at Nordholz Airbase , 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 to Neubiberg Air Base , near Munich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in the Berlin 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 with F - 84E Thunderjet s for air defense of the Munich area With the arrival of the jet age in Europe , USAFE wanted to move its units west of the Rhine River , as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from Soviet Mig - 15 bases in Czechoslovakia . The squadron relocated to a new base , located west of the Rhine River near Kaiserslautern , West Germany in 1952 . Landstuhl Air Base opened for operations on 5 August 1952 , and the 527th Fighter Bomber Squadron arrived on 21 Aug . . In April 1953 , the 527th completed its move to Landstuhl and was soon reequipped with the 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 the 527th 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 - armed F - 86D Sabre interceptor which provided an all - weather capability The 527th was inactivated on - 8 Feb 1956 due to budget restraints and a reorganization of air defense forces in West Germany by USAFE , with personnel and equipment transferring to the 461st Fighter - Day Squadron . Aggressor Squadron . In April 1976 , the squadron was reactivated at RAF Alconbury , England as the 527th Tactical Fighter Training and Aggressor Squadron , becoming the United States Air Forces in Europe ' s only aggressor squadron . The 527th began providing aggressor support to European - based combat units in September . Its mission was to train United States Air Forces Europe jet fighter pilots for air combat with Eastern bloc adversaries using " Dissimilar Air Combat Training " ( DACT ) The squadron was equipped with the Northrup F - 5E Tiger II , being originally part of an order of aircraft destined for South Vietnam . The first batch of eight aircraft were air - freighted into Alconbury on 21 May 1976 on board a Lockheed C - 5A Galaxy direct from the production facility at Palmdale , 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 by Warsaw Pact aircraft . Two - digit Soviet - 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 their national 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 involving high - G turns at supersonic speeds . The Aggressors trained both United States Air Force squadrons in Soviet fighter tactics , but deployed frequently to other NATO airfields , training pilots from Norway to Greece and Turkey , France , West Germany and the Low 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 of air 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 with F - 16C Fighting Falcon s and reassign the squadron to RAF Bentwaters . In return , the A - 10 ' s at Bentwaters would be reassigned to Alconbury and give the 10th a new Close Air Support ( CAS ) mission . After the 527th was reassigned , eight of the lowest - hour F - 5E ' s were transferred to the U . S . Navy for TOPGUN / Aggressor training at NAS Miramar , California in July 1988 . The remainder were sent to storage at RAF Kemble for refurbishing . From there they were sold under the foreign military assistance program to Morocco and Tunisia 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 AS 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 the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB , West Germany and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ramstein AB . The squadron was officially activated on 1 July 1988 , with the first four months dedicated to pilot conversion for the new aircraft . The 527th AS resumed their aggressor role in November 1988 when six McDonnell Douglas F - 15C Eagles from the 36th TFW at Bitburg AB , 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 AB . However , in 1989 with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and a reduction of defense spending , the decision was made to terminate the entire USAF aggressor program . In November 1989 the 527th AS began disposing of its F - 16Cs in preparation for inactivation the following year . The first two aircraft to leave were flown to Spangdahlem AB on 29 November 1989 . The 527th AS 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 . Modern era . The 527th was not activated again until 29 September 2000 when it became the 527th Space Aggressor Squadron . On 14 April 2006 the squadron moved from under Air Force Space Command to Air Combat Command . The unit now reports to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group of the 57th Wing .