The 99th Range Group is an inactive

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 ...

(USAF) unit. It was last stationed at

Nellis AFB Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Op ...

, Nevada, where it was responsible for the

Nevada Test and Training Range The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) is one of two military training areas at the Nellis Air Force Base Complex in Nevada and used by the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base. The NTTR land area includes a "sim ...

(NTTR).

1945 RBS unit

After the Colorado Springs Tent Camp gained the 1946 Fifteenth Air Force headquarters for bomber operations, including

Radar Bomb Scoring Radar Bomb Scoring is a combat aviation ground support operation used to evaluate Cold War aircrews' effectiveness with simulated unguided bomb drops near radar stations of the United States Navy, the USAF Strategic Air Command, and Army Project ...

(RBS), "Colorado Springs" had the 206th Army Air Force Base Unit (RBS) organized on 6 June 1945 and which initially controlled RBS detachments at Kansas City and

Fort Worth Army Airfield A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. From August to 8 March 1946, as the 63rd AAFBU, the headquarters was at

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...

on Long Island, New York, and after returning to Colorado Springs, was renamed the 263rd AAFBU. The 263rd, after transferring from 15th AF to directly under Strategic Air Command, was redesignated the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron (SAC) effective on 1 August 1948 and by 25 August 1949, the 3903rd RBSS controlled the nearby "

Denver Bomb Plot Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

" RBS detachment.

1951 RBS group

The 15th AF HQ departed the 1949

Ent Air Force Base Ent Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A tent city, established in 1943 during construction of the base, was initially commanded by Major General Uzal Gira ...

for

March AFB March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB) is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's ...

and the 3903rd went to

Carswell AFB Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military a ...

and became a group in 1951. The 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group was activated in 1954 AFOMO Letter 241j, 9 June 1954, Subject: Constitution and Activation of the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group and Certain Other USAF Units. and assumed the 3903d Radar Bomb Scoring Group mission.Bailey, Carl E. ''Lineage and Honors History of the 99th Range Group'', Air Force Historical Research Agency (does not include commanders after 1975)

1961 division

On 1 August 1961 the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group that provided command level standardization/

evaluation Evaluation is a systematic determination and assessment of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, design, project or any other intervention or initiative to ...

of SAC aircrews merged with the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group, with the 1CEVG Radar Bomb Scoring Division acquiring the previous RBS Group's personnel, electronic equipment, and mission. 1CEVG RBS personnel managed

Combat Skyspot Combat Skyspot was the ground-directed bombing (GDB) operation of the Vietnam War by the United States Air Force using Bomb Directing Centrals and by the United States Marine Corps using Course Directing Centrals (" MSQ-77 and TPQ-10 ground ra ...

operations during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

1989 range group

The personnel and the assets of the

Radar Bomb Scoring Division Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weat ...

became the 1st Electronic Combat Range Group on 1 July 1989 when the 1CEVG was split, and other 1CEVG organizations transferred to SAC headquarters. 1 CEVG/Det. 2 was moved from Wall, SD to Holbrook, AZ in 1968. We were up and running around the middle of April. …1990 when we became 99 ECRG/DET 2. The last RBS/ECM sortie was on or about September 13, 1993. The last ECM-only sortie was on or about September 30, 1993. A

Rockwell B-1B The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along with ...

from Dyess (not positive) flew the last RBS/ECM mission. A C-130 from Hulburt Field flew the last ECM mission. The period of time between October 1, 1993, and Christmas was used for decommissioning the systems" The 1st ECRG then became the 99th Electronic Combat Range Group in 1992 when USAF required subordinate groups to carry the same number as their parent wings. In 1995 it moved to Nellis and changed its mission to management of the NTTR. In October 1995, the group moved to

, Nevada and was redesignated the 99th Range Group. There it assumed the mission of managing the

. To perform this mission it was assigned two subordinate squadrons, the 99th Range Squadron and 99th Range Support Squadron. It continued this task until its mission was transferred to its parent, the

99th Air Base Wing The 99th Air Base Wing (99 ABW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) and its ACC subordinate organization, the United States Air Force Warfare Center. It is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and also se ...

Lineage

* Constituted as the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group on 9 June 1954. * Activated on 10 Aug 1954. * Redesignated as: 1 Combat Evaluation Group on 1 Aug 1961; : 1 Electronic Combat Range Group on 1 Jul 1989; : 99 Electronic Combat Range Group on 1 Aug 1992; : 99 Range Group on 1 Oct 1995. Inactivated on 7 Feb 2000.

Assignments

* Strategic Air Command, 10 Aug 1954; * 99th Strategic Weapons Wing (later 99th Tactics and Training Wing, 99th Wing, 99th Air Base Wing), 10 August 1989 - 7 February 2000

Subordinate Units

* 99th Range Squadron, 1 October 1995 - 7 February 2000 * 99th Range Support Squadron, 1 October 1995 - 7 February 2000 Flight * 10th SHORAN Beacon Flight, 10 August 1954 - 25 July 1966

Stations

, Nevada, 1 October 1995 - 7 February 2000

References

{{Reflist , refs= {{Cite report, date=9 November 1983 , title=Historical Summary: Radar Bomb Scoring, 1945–1983 , url=http://www.mobileradar.org/Documents/hist_sum_rad_bom_scrg.pdf , editor=Hellickson, Gene—2007 transcription using Microsoft Word , publisher=Office of History,

1st Combat Evaluation Group The 1st Combat Evaluation Group (initially "1CEG", later "1CEVG") was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) unit. It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Sc ...

, access-date=2012-10-01 , quote=''On 6 June 1945, the 206th Army Air Force Base Unit (RBS) ( 206th AAFBU), was activated art Colorado Springs, Colorado, under the command of Colonel Robert W. Burns. He assumed operational control of the two SCR-584 radar detachments located at Kansas City and Fort Worth '' et B', Texas. … On 24 July 1945, the 206th was redesignated the 63rd AAFBU (RBS) and three weeks later was moved to {{sic, Mitchell Field, New York, and placed under the command of the {{sic, Continental Air Force. On 5 March 1946, the organization moved back to Colorado Springs and on 8 March of the same year was redesignated the 263rd AAFBU.'' (html transcription available a

Groups of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1954