An Air Operations Center (AOC) is a type of command center used by the United States Air Force (USAF). It is the senior agency of the Air Force component commander to provide command and control of air operations.[1]
The United States Air Force employs two kinds of AOCs: regional AOCs utilizing the AN/USQ-163 Falconer weapon system that support geographic combatant commanders, and functional AOCs that support functional combatant commanders.[2] When there is more than one U.S. military service working in an AOC, such as when naval aviation from the U.S. Navy (USN) and/or the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) is incorporated, it is called a Joint Air Operations Center (JAOC). In cases of allied or coalition (multinational) operations in tandem with USAF or Joint air operations, the AOC is called a Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC).[1]
An AOC is the senior element of the Theater Air Control System (TACS). The Joint Force Commander (JFC) assigns a Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) to lead the AOC weapon system. If allied or coalition forces are part of the operation, the JFC and JFACC will be redesignated as the CFC and CFACC, respectively.
Quite often the Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) is assigned the JFACC/CFACC position for planning and executing theater-wide air forces. If another service also provides a significant share of air forces, the Deputy JFACC/CFACC will typically be a senior flag officer from that service. For example, during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, when USAF combat air forces (CAF) and mobility air forces (MAF) integrated extensive USN and USMC sea-based and land-based aviation and Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy / Fleet Air Arm aviation, the CFACC was an aeronautically rated USAF lieutenant general, assisted by an aeronautically designated USN rear admiral (upper half) as the Deputy CFACC, and an aeronautically rated RAF air commodore as the Senior British Officer (Air).
The Command element occupies the Battlecab, which houses offices for the senior leadership and provides oversight of the Combat Operations floor. The Air Component Commander, normally a 3* NATO OF-8 (O-9) Lt General is the overall Commander of the Air Component and has oversight of their AOC.
There will usually be a 2* NATO OF-7 (O-8) Major General who is the Deputy CJFACC and has day to day command of the Air Component and oversight of the AOC. The AOC Commander, would normally be a 1* NATO OF-6 (O-7) Brigadier General who commands the whole AOC facility and answers to the ACC. There would then be at least 2 AOC Directors NATO OF-5 (O-6) Colonels who would oversee the Battlecab and maintain a 24/7 shift watch over all aspects of CAOC decision making.
There are five divisions in the AOC. These separate, but distinct, organizations fuse information that eventually becomes the Air Tasking Order. Staffing of these divisions consists primarily of USAF officers of various specialities in the ranks of captain, major and lieutenant colonel, supported by a smaller cohort of enlisted airmen, typically in the rank of staff sergeant and above. When conducting joint air operations, U.S. Army and USMC officers of similar rank and USN officers in the ranks of lieutenant, lieutenant commander and commander will also provide augmentative manning as required, the majority of whom will be aeronautically rated/aeronautically designated. Senior leadership oversight of the AOC is provided by USAF colonels and general officers and USN captains and flag officers.
| 601st Air Operations Center | Tyndall AFB, Florida | Air Combat Command | First Air Force (Air Forces Northern) | US Northern Command | Regional | Command and control for air defense, homeland security and civil support missions for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command across the Continental US, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.[3] | |||
| 603rd Air Operations Center | Ramstein AB | US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa | Third Air Force | US European Command and US Africa Command | Regional | Command and control of air operations in Europe and Africa.[4] | |||
| 607th Air Operations Center | Osan Air Base | Pacific Air Forces | Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) | US Indo-Pacific Command | Regional | Command and control of air operations in the Korean peninsula, supporting US Forces Korea.[5] | |||
| 608th Air Operations Center | Barksdale AFB, Louisiana | Air Force Global Strike Command | Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) | US Strategic Command | Functional | Command and control of long-range strike missions.[6] | |||
| 609th Air Operations Center | Al Udeid Air Base | Air Combat Command | Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) | US Central Command | Regional | Also known as the Combined Air Operations Center, commands and controls the USAF operations from Northeast Africa across the Middle East to Central and South Asia.[7] | |||
| 611th Air Operations Center | Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska | Pacific Air Forces | Eleventh Air Force | US Northern Command | Regional | Command and control for the Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Alaskan Command and Eleventh Air Force within and surrounding Alaska.[8] | |||
| 612th Air Operations Center | Davis Mothan AFB, Arizona | Air Combat Command | Twelfth Air Force (Air Forces Southern) | US Southern Command | Regional | Command and control of USAF operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.[9] | |||
| 613th Air Operations Center | Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii | Pacific Air Forces | Thirteenth Air Force | US Indo-Pacific Command | Regional | Command and control of USAF operations in the throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.[10] | |||
| 616th Operations Center | Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas | Air Combat Command | Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) | US Cyber Command | Functional | Command and control of USAF worldwide intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance and cyberwarfare operations. | |||
| 618th Air Operations Center | Scott AFB, Illinois | Air Mobility Command | Air Mobility Command | US Transportation Command | Functional | Also known as Tanker Airlift Control Center, it plans, schedules and directs airlift, air-refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world.[11] | |||
| Combined Air Operations Center - Experimental | Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia | Air Combat Command | US Air Force Warfare Center | N/A | Test and evaluation | Test bed for command and control systems. Operated by the 505th Command and Control Wing.[12] | |||
| Combined Air Operations Center - Nellis | Nellis AFB, Nevada | Air Combat Command | US Air Force Warfare Center | N/A | Training | Provides command and control training to the US Military and coalition partners. Operated by the 505th Command and Control Wing.[13] |
| 614th Air Operations Center | Vandenberg AFB, California | United States Space Force | Space Operations Command | US Space Command | Functional | Transitioned to the US Space Force with the rest of Air Force Space Command on 20 December 2019.[14] | |||
| 617th Air and Space Operations Center | Ramstein AB | United States Air Forces Africa | Seventeenth Air Force (Air Forces Africa) | US Africa Command | Regional | Operational between 1 October 2008 and 1 October 2011. Merged with 603rd AOC.[15] [16] | |||
| 623rd Air Operations Center | Hurlburt Field, Florida | Air Force Special Operations Command | Twenty-Third Air Force (Air Forces Special Operations Forces) | US Special Operations Command | Functional | Re-designated as the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center (AFSOAWC) on 11 February 2013. Provided command and control of special forces.[17] | |||
| 624th Operations Center | Joint Base San Antonio, Texas | Air Combat Command | Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) | US Cyber Command | Functional | Merged with 625th Operations Center to become 616th Operations Center in 2020.[18] | |||
| 625th Operations Center | Joint Base San Antonio, Texas | Air Combat Command | Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) | US Cyber Command | Functional | Merged with 624th Operations Center to become 616th Operations Center in 2020. |
Since July 2013 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also uses the Combined Air Operations Centre concept at two locations (Torrejon, Spain and Uedem, Germany) with a deployable Air Operations Centre at Poggio Renatico, Italy. Previously, supporting the air component commands were 5 static Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) to direct NATO air operations: in Finderup, Denmark; Eskişehir, Turkey; Larissa, Greece; Torrejon, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal. There were 2 further CAOCs with a static as well as a deployable role; Uedem, Germany and Poggio Renatico. The static CAOCs can support Allied air operations from their fixed locations, while the deployable CAOC will move where they are needed.