Air Combat Command (ACC), headquartered at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is one of ten major commands in the United States Air Force. As a result of its lineal consolidation with Tactical Air Command in September 2016, ACC has performed a myriad of missions during its 72-year history ranging from counter-air, air interdiction and close air support to manned and unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air battle management, and offensive/defensive cyber operations. For more than seven decades, ACC has served as the primary provider of air combat forces to America's warfighting commanders.
Mission
ACC organizes, trains, and equips Airmen who fight in and from multiple domains to control the air, space, and cyberspace. As the lead command for fighter, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, personnel recovery, persistent attack and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and cyber operations, ACC is responsible for providing combat air, space, and cyber power and the combat support that assures mission success to America's warfighting commands.
Forces and Organization
The command has 1,097 assigned aircraft, with 27 wings, 1,122 units at more than 201 locations non-expeditionary and an additional eight wings, 222 units at 57 locations supporting expeditionary operations for a total of 35 wings, 1,344 units at more than 258 locations. The command’s active duty, civilian and air reserve component totals 19,847 officers, 115,063 enlisted and 22,639 civilians for a combined total of 157, 549. ACC's forces are organized under a direct reporting unit, five numbered air forces and one Air Force Reserve numbered air force. The command operates 14 major installations and supports tenant units on numerous non-ACC bases around the globe. ACC also has responsibility for inland search and rescue in the 48 contiguous states. The ACC commander is the component commander of U.S. Air Forces - Joint Forces Command and U.S. Strategic Command.
Numbered Air Forces
First Air Force, or Air Forces Northern, with headquarters at Tyndall AFB, Fla., has responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the continental United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. As the continental United States Region, or CONR, for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, 1 AF (AFNORTH) provides air defense in the form of airspace surveillance and airspace control. First AF is also the designated air component for U.S. Northern Command.
AFNORTH rapidly responds to non-military threats under the Defense Support to Civil Authorities, or DSCA, mission. The organization assists civilian agencies before and during emergencies, natural or man-made disasters, and other Department of Defense-approved activities. Operating with the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center serves as the U.S. inland search and rescue coordinator and is the single agency responsible for coordinating on-land federal searches. These search and rescue operations can be conducted anywhere in the 48 states, Mexico and Canada. The Civil Air Patrol is a significant partner in search and rescue and other DSCA missions.
Other First Air Force (AFNORTH) units include the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, the 702nd Computer Support Squadron and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall AFB, the Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y.; the Western Air Defense Sector at McChord AFB, Wash.; Det. 1, 1 AF, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and 722nd Air Defense Squadron, North Bay, Canada.
Bases:
119th Fighter Wing, Hector Field, Fargo, N.D.: MQ-1, C-21
Det. 1, 119 Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, Va.: F-16C
120th Fighter Wing, Great Falls International Airport, Mont.: F-16
125th Fighter Wing, Jacksonville IAP, Fla.: F-15
Det. 1, 125 Fighter Wing, Homestead Air Reserve Station, Fla.
142nd Fighter Wing, Portland IAP, Ore.: F-15
144th Fighter Wing, Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.: F-16
Det. 1, 144 Fighter Wing, March Air Reserve Base, Calif.
147th Fighter Wing, Ellington ANG Base, Texas: MQ-1, C-26
148th Fighter Wing, Duluth IAP, Minn.: F-16
158th Fighter Wing, Burlington IAP, Vt.: F-16
177th Fighter Wing, Atlantic City IAP, N.J.: F-16
101st Information Operations Flight, Salt Lake City IAP, Utah
U.S. Air Forces Central Command (Ninth AF/AFCENT) is the air component of United States Central Command, a regional unified command. AFCENT is responsible for air operations (either unilaterally or in concert with coalition partners) and developing contingency plans in support of national objectives for USCENTCOM's 20-nation area of responsibility in Southwest Asia. Additionally, AFCENT manages an extensive supply and equipment prepositioning program at several area of responsibilities sites.
Tenth Air Force, located at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas, directs the activities of more than 13,300 reservists and 900 civilians located at 28 installations throughout the United States.
The mission of the 10th Air Force is to exercise command supervision of its assigned Reserve units to ensure they maintain the highest combat capability to augment active forces in support of national objectives. Tenth Air Force currently commands Air Force Reserve Command units gained by five other major commands, including Air Combat Command. ACC-gained units consist of six fighter wings, three air rescue units, one bomber squadron, one combat operations squadron, and one airborne warning and control group when mobilized.
Twelfth Air Force/AF South with headquarters at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., provides a component role for the warfighting responsibility for U.S. Southern Command as well as the U.S. Southern Air Forces. As the air and space component to U.S. Southern Command, Air Forces Southern conducts security cooperation and provides air, space, and cyberspace capabilities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Fifthteenth Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, is responsible for generating and presenting Air Combat Command’s conventional forces to include fighter, remotely piloted aircraft, command and control, and rescue flying units plus Air-Ground Operations Airmen who integrate Air Force capabilities in combined arms operations, the Air Force’s dedicated base defense group, RED HORSE engineers, and the agile combat support units that open and operate our bases. In addition to organizing, training, and equipping ACC’s conventional forces, the 15th AF has a deployable Joint Task Force-capable headquarters that can provide command and control of integrated ACC forces.
15th Air Force units include:
1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, VA
4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
20th Fighter Wing, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
23d Wing, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
93d Air Ground Operations Wing, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force, Fla.
355th Wing, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force, Idaho
388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
432d Wing, Creech Air Force Base, Nev.
461st Air Control Wing, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
552d Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
633d Air Base Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the first-of-its-kind Numbered Air Force. Also known as the Air Force’s Information Warfare Numbered Air Force, the 16th integrates multisource intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber warfare, electronic warfare, and information operations capabilities across the conflict continuum to ensure that our Air Force is fast, lethal and fully integrated in both competition and in war. Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) provides mission integration of IW at operational and tactical levels … recognizing the role of information in creating dilemmas for adversaries in competition and, if necessary, future conflicts.
Sixteenth Air Force units include:
9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
67th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
70th ISR Wing, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
319th Reconnaissance Wing, Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
363d ISR Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
480th ISR Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
557th Weather Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
616th Operations Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
688th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
Air Force Cryptologic Office, Fort George G. Meade, Md.