| Unit Name: | 10th Aerospace Defense Group |
| Dates: | Squadron: 1962–1967; 1970–1979; 1992–1997 Group: 1967–1970 |
| Country: |  United States |
| Role: | Air Defense |
| Command Structure: | Aerospace Defense Command 1962–1979 Pacific Air Forces 1992–1997 |
| Motto: | Caveat Aggressor Latin Aggressor Beware (1963–1967) Island Defender (1992–1997) |
| Equipment: | PGM-17 Thor |
| Decorations: | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 10 Air Defense Squadron emblem |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | 10th Aerospace Defense Group emblem |
| Identification Symbol 3 Label: | 10th Aerospace Defense Squadron emblem[1] |
The 10th Aerospace Defense Group was inactivated on 31 December 1970 by the United States Air Force (USAF). Its last assignment was with Fourteenth Aerospace Force at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The 10th Aerospace Defense Group and Squadron were the sole operators of the United States' second nuclear-tipped anti-satellite weapon, Weapons System 437 (WS-437). For this reason the squadron continues the group history through temporary bestowal.
The United States Air Force's 10th Air Defense Squadron is also an inactive USAF organization, that preceded and followed the 10th group at Vandenberg as the 10th Aerospace Defense Squadron. Once WS-437 became non-operational in the 1970s, the squadron assumed the mission of launching Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites into orbit until its mission was transferred. It was later activated an air defense unit and from 1992 to 1997 was located at Wheeler AFS, Hawaii.
The 10th Aerospace Defense Squadron was activated in late 1963[2] to operate Weapons System 437, using nuclear equipped Thor missiles. The squadron was located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, but launch facilities were at Johnston Island Air Force Base. Two missiles were stationed at each location.
In 1961, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) had formed the 6595th Test Squadron to perform operational testing on the system. As the program approached operational status, AFSC transferred the 6595th to Air Defense Command (ADC)[3] in November 1962. ADC discontinued the test squadron and used its personnel and equipment to activate the 10th Aerospace Defense Squadron[4] The group replaced the squadron in 1967.[5] The Johnston Island location was upgraded to a subordinate squadron at the same time.[6]
At the end of 1970, the 10th Squadron replaced the group and the 24th Aerospace Defense Squadron. WS 437 was put into standby status with the squadron maintaining system components. The squadron then changed its mission to support of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).[7] [8] The DMSP mission was performed by Strategic Air Command until it was transferred to ADC in 1970.[9]
The DMSP generates terrestrial and space weather data for United States operational forces worldwide. Data from this program is also furnished to the civilian community through the Department of Commerce. DMSP satellites circle the Earth at an altitude of about 500 miles in a near-polar, Sun-synchronous orbit.[10] The Block 5 DMSP satellites launched during the time the squadron was active used Thor launchers (similar to those used by WS 437) to boost them into orbit.[11] In 1979, the squadron was inactivated when responsibility for management of the DMSP program was transferred to Space Division of AFSC.[9] Unfortunately, the squadron remained responsible for operational DMSP launches, "the [AFSC] program office authorized launch of the last Block 5C satellite on 19 February 1976 with incorrect weight-to-propellant-loading calculations. Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Thor/Burner II booster rose majestically through the atmosphere, reached the edge of space, exhausted its propellant, and the DMSP satellite whistled back to Earth—a total loss."[12]
In 1992, the 10th squadron was again activated as the 10th Air Defense Squadron, replacing the 6010th Aerospace Defense Group at Wheeler Air Force Base when the USAF eliminated or redesignated all existing MAJCON (major command controlled) four digit units. The 6010th had been formed by upgrading the 6010th Aerospace Defense Flight in 1989 when the 327th Air Division was inactivated.[13] [14]
The squadron coordinated air defense activities in Hawaii with the Hawaii Air National Guard and maintained operational control of Air National Guard alert aircraft. The squadron supervised aircraft control and warning units within the Pacific Islands Defense Region, directing aircraft operations and defense activities from its Air Defense Control Center.[15] The squadron continued these activities until it was inactivated in 1997.
10th Aerospace Defense Group
Organized on 1 January 1967[5]
Inactivated on 31 December 1970[5]
10th Air Defense Squadron
Organized on 15 November 1963
Inactivated on 1 January 1967
Activated on 31 December 1970
Inactivated 1 November 1979[2]
Activated on 1 April 1992
10th Aerospace Defense Group
10th Air Defense Squadron
10th Aerospace Defense Group
Stationed at Johnston Island Air Force Base
10th Aerospace Group
10th Air Defense Squadron
Explanatory notes
Footnotes