The 601st Air Operations Center (601 AOC) is an active unit of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, assigned to the First Air Force and stationed at

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The unit plans, directs, and assesses air operations for the

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD), and the

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

(NORTHCOM), as the operations hub for First Air Force. It provides aerospace warning and control for NORAD Defensive Counter Air (DCA) activities. It also directs Air Force activities in support of NORTHCOM homeland security and civil support missions. The 601 AOC directs all air sovereignty activities for the continental United States. The 601st Air & Space Operations Center was activated on 1 November 2007 at Tyndall. The DAF/A1M letter directing this action was dated 25 October 2007, and is almost certainly the date of the center's constitution. Other Air Operations Centers dropped the "space" from their name in late 2014. Simultaneous with the center's activation, the 701st Air Defense Squadron, 1st Information Operations Flight, and Air Forces Northern (First Air Force), Provisional, were all inactivated. They would appear to be the sources for the center's personnel and equipment.

Mission

The 601st Air and Space Operations Center provides strategic air defense/sovereignty, tactical warning/assessment to Commander NORAD and Combined

Air Operations Center 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.

Units and partner organizations

101st Information Operations Flight

The 101st Information Operations Flight (IOF) provides non-kinetic operational options to the Combined Forces Air Component Commander (CFACC). The flight provides homeland security air related missions, including support for

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

. The 101st provides important inputs to the Air Tasking Orders executed by the

Continental NORAD Region The Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR) is a component of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) that provides airspace surveillance and control and directs air sovereignty activities for the continental United States (CONUS). CO ...

. The flight supports Integrated Air Defense Systems in the National Capital Region, National Security Special Events, Security Events for Homeland Security, and associated Combined and Joint Interagency Task Forces. Past activities include participation in relief activities after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, major NORAD/USNORTHCOM and Canadian exercises, and operations to support the Super Bowl, Space Shuttle launch and recovery, G8 summit, UN General Assembly, and the Republican/Democratic National Conventions.

Joint Based Expeditionary Connectivity Center

The Joint Based Expeditionary Connectivity Center (JBECC) is a highly mobile, small footprint, vehicle-mounted set of communications equipment that can rapidly deploy to build an integrated air picture, from multiple Federal Aviation Administration and tactical radars, within a defined geographical area. This capability enabled NORAD to better detect, track, identify, and engage any airborne aircraft, cruise missile, unmanned aerial vehicle, or remotely piloted vehicle. It was developed in early 2001 as part of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program. Since September 11, 2001, the JBECC has participated in over a dozen operational missions, to protect the President of the United States, the National Capital Region, the 2004 Group of Eight (G8) Summit, United Nations General Assembly, Space Shuttle Launches, and Super Bowl XLI. It was a key component of NORAD's Deployable-Homeland Air and Cruise Missile Defense Mission.

Air Force Rescue Coordination Center

As the United States inland search and rescue (SAR) mission coordinator, the

Air Force Rescue Coordination Center {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2021 As the United States' inland search and rescue (SAR) coordinator, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating on-land federal SAR activities in the Unit ...

(AFRCC) serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating life saving federal SAR services, ensuring timely and effective lifesaving operations within the 48 contiguous United States and supporting Mexican and Canadian requests for their SAR operations. The unit’s responsibilities include: initiating searches for missing/overdue aircraft (e.g., all DoD, commercial, and interstate aircraft or intrastate aircraft if requested by the state), managing all inland emergency beacon searches, and supporting state and local SAR operations (e.g., missing person searches, MEDEVAC, organ transport, etc.) The AFRCC operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is staffed by one watch supervisor and up to four SAR controllers.

References

External links

1st Air Force

601st AOC Twitter Page

601st AOC YouTube Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:601st Air And Space Operations Center Air Operations Centers of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 2007