Missile Warning Center
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Missile Warning Center (MWC) is a center that provides missile warning and defense for
United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...
's
Combined Force Space Component Command The Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) was a U.S.-led multinational subordinate command of United States Space Command. It was responsible for tactical control of American and multinational space forces. The CFSCC's mission was to "pla ...
, incorporating both space-based and terrestrial sensors. The MWC is located at
Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station (CMSFS) is located in Cheyenne Mountain on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to Colorado Springs, The Cheyenne Mountain Complex, an underground facili ...
.


Mission

The Missile Warning Center coordinates, plans, and executes worldwide missile, nuclear detonation, and space re-entry event detection to provide timely, accurate, and unambiguous strategic warning in support of the United States and Canada.


History

During deployment of the computerized air defense network for the United States, the Soviet Union announced that they had successfully tested an
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
.
BMEWS The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, 474L System, Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve radar ...
General Operational Requirement 156 was issued on November 7, 1957 (BMEWS was "designed to go with the active portion of the WIZARD system") and on February 4, 1958; the USAF informed
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
(ADC) that BMEWS was an "all-out program" and the "system has been directed by the President, has the same national priority as the ballistic missile and satellite programs and is being placed on the Department of Defense master urgency list." The subsequent plan by June 1958 for a US Zone of the Interior facility for anti-ICBM fire control by
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
(ADC) was for it to be "the heart of the entire ballistic missile defense system" with
Nike Zeus Nike Zeus was an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system developed by the United States Army during the late 1950s and early 1960s that was designed to destroy incoming Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile warheads before they could hit their ...
SAMs. On 19 October 1959, HQ USAF assigned ADC the "planning responsibility" for eventual operation of the
Missile Defense Alarm System The Missile Defense Alarm System, or MIDAS, was a United States Air Force Air Defense Command system of 12 early-warning satellites that provided limited notice of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile launches between 1960 and 1966. Original ...
to detect ICBM launches with infrared sensors in space.


1960 Ent AFB CC&DF

The
BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, 474L System, Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve radar ...
(CC&DF) built as an austere facility instead of the planned AICBM control center became operational on September 30, 1960, at
Ent AFB 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 Girar ...
when
BMEWS The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, 474L System, Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve radar ...
'
Thule Site J Thule Site J (J-Site) is a United States Space Force (USSF) radar station in Greenland near Pituffik Space Base for missile warning and United States Space Surveillance Network, spacecraft tracking. The northernmost station of the Solid State ...
became operational. Site J's computers (e.g., in the Sylvania AN/FSQ-28 Missile Impact Predictor Set) processed 4 RCA AN/FPS-50 Radar Sets' data, and alerts transferred via the BMEWS Rearward Communications System to the CC&DF for
NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), 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 pr ...
attack assessment and warning to RCA Display Information Processors (DIPs) at the NORAD/CONAD command center (also on Ent AFB), SAC's Offutt AFB nuclear bunker, and
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
's new
National Military Command Center The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is a The Pentagon, Pentagon command and communications center for the National Command Authority (United States), National Command Authority (i.e., the President of the United States and the United Sta ...
. DIPs presented impact ellipses and drove a "threat summary display" with a count of incoming missiles and a countdown of "Minutes Until First Impact" (
cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...
later large screen displays such as the
Iconorama Iconorama was a Cold War electronic projection system for graphic presentation ("stylized display using an etched plate to produce symbols") developed by the firm Fenske, Fedrick and Miller. The Iconorama was ordered by the United States Air Forc ...
.) In July 1961 separate from the CC&DF, the surveillance center in New Hampshire "was discontinued as the new SPADATS Center became operational at Ent AFB" with the 496L
Space Detection and Tracking System Space Detection and Tracking System, or SPADATS, was built in 1960 to integrate defense systems built by different branches of the United States Armed Forces and was placed under North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Air Force had a ...
(i.e., NORAD began aerospace operations). In 1962 the Army's
LIM-49 Nike Zeus Nike Zeus was an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system developed by the United States Army during the late 1950s and early 1960s that was designed to destroy incoming Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile warheads before they could hit their ...
program was assigned the ''satellite'' intercept mission ( Program 505's "Operation Mudflap" conducted a test), and the 1962 SECDEF assigned the USAF to develop the Satellite Intercept System which would use orbit data from a
Space Defense Center The Space Defense Center (SDC) was a space operation center of the North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a ...
. By December 15, 1964, NORAD had an implementation plan for a "Single Integrated Space Defense Center" for NORAD/CONAD to centralize both missile warning and space surveillance.


1967 Space Defense Center

The 1st Aero on February 6, 1967, moved operations to the Group III Space Defense Center, the integrated missile warning/space surveillance facility (496L Spacetrack system with Philco 212 primary processor) at the
Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts ...
( FOC of the new bunker's command center—a portion of the Burroughs 425L Command/Control and Missile Warning System—had been on July 1, 1966.) Interim operations of the Avco 474N SLBM Detection and Warning System began in July 1970 (IOC was 5 May 1972), and in 1972 20% of the Bendix AN/FPS-85 Phased Array Radar's surveillance capability "became dedicated to search for SLBMs" (the FPS-85 relayed SLBM data via the 474N network for SLBM warning to " SAC, the
National Military Command Center The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is a The Pentagon, Pentagon command and communications center for the National Command Authority (United States), National Command Authority (i.e., the President of the United States and the United Sta ...
, and the Alternate NMCC over BMEWS circuits").


1975 NORAD/ADCOM center

The NORAD/CONAD Missile Warning Center came under NORAD/ADCOM control in 1975 when the unified
Continental Air Defense Command Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, tasked with air defense for the continental United States. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. The primary purpo ...
ended and in early 1972, the 427M improvement program was planned; e.g., ( NORAD Computer System to replace the 425L System.) After SAC assumed control of ballistic missile warning and space surveillance facilities on December 1, 1979, the MWC was in the same room as HQ NORAD/ADCOM J31's Space Surveillance Center (separated by partitions.) The "NORAD Missile Warning and Space Surveillance System" was the general term for the entire network applied by the House's 1981 Armed Services Committee—the Core Processing Segment (CPS) handled missile warning/space surveillance with three Honeywell H6080 computers, e.g., a NORAD Computer System (NCS) H6080 for command and control and for missile warning functions (2nd for space surveillance and 3rd as backup for both). Circa 1986, the "missile and space surveillance and warning system" consisted of a
space computational center Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four ...
and 5 sensor systems: (the GAO report says July 1.) *
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System The RCA 474L Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS, 474L System, Project 474L) was a United States Air Force Cold War early warning radar, computer, and communications system, for ballistic missile detection. The network of twelve rada ...
*
Defense Support Program The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a program of the United States Space Force that operated the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the ''Satellite Early Warning System'' used by the United States. DSP satellite ...
( DSP satellites, ground systems, etc. of Project 647) * "OTH Forward Scatter Missile Detection System" (440L System of Program 673A with internationa
AN/FRT-80 transmitters & AN/FSQ-76 receivers
Aviano AB Correlation Center, and
Rome Laboratory Rome Laboratory (Rome Air Development Center until 1991) is a U.S. Air Force research laboratory for " command, control, and communications" research and development and is responsible for planning and executing the USAF science and technology pr ...
processing center) * "Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile Warning System" (remaining 474N Fuzzy-7 radar(s), AN/FPS-85, and 2
PAVE PAWS PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". The first solid-state ...
stations) * Space Detection and Warning System By 1981 Cheyenne Mountain was providing 6,700 messages per hour compiled via sensor inputs from the
Joint Surveillance System The Joint Surveillance System (JSS) is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It replaced the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system in 1983. Overvie ...
, BMEWS, the SLBM "Detection and Warning System,
COBRA DANE The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE is a PESA phased array radar installation operated by Raytheon for the United States Space Force (originally for the United States Air Force) at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. ...
, and PARCS as well as SEWS and
PAVE PAWS PAVE PAWS (PAVE Phased Array Warning System) is a complex Cold War early warning radar and computer system developed in 1980 to "detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States". The first solid-state ...
". During the 1991
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, the missile operations section that supported the MWC processed
SCUD missile A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the m ...
detections and interceptions for theater warning units. The Space and Warning Systems Center maintained "26 stovepipe systems" for USSPACECOM, NORAD, and AFSPC, and the Space Computational Center was replaced in 1992. In February 1995, "the missile warning center at Cheyenne Mountain AS asundergoing a $450 million upgrade program as part of Cheyenne Mountain's $1.7 billion renovation package." At Cheyenne Mountain on September 11, 2001, Major Richard J. Hughes was the Missile Warning Center Commander and the Chief of the J7 Exercise Branch. In 2003, construction began for a new command center at Cheyenne Mountain to include
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), previously National Missile Defense (NMD), is an anti-ballistic missile system implemented by the United States of America for defense against ballistic missiles, during the midcourse phase of ballistic t ...
—the "new Missile Correlation Center" (MCC) was to have new consoles, mission system connectivity and communications capabilities.


Missile Correlation Center

The Missile Correlation Center (MCC) and Space Control Center were in Cheyenne Mountain by March 4, 2005 when Patrick Mullin was the commander of the MCC, which by 2006 was receiving input from five Joint Tactical Ground Stations.


Missile Warning Operations Center

The 2006–8 Cheyenne Mountain Realignment divided MCC operations into NORAD/ NORTHCOM's Missile and Space Domain at
Peterson AFB Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home t ...
and STRATCOM's facility in Cheyenne Mountain ("Missile Warning Operations Center" in 2007.) USSTRATCOM announced a 2007 plan to relocate the MWOC from Cheyenne Mountain to
Schriever AFB Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schriever Air Force Base, Falcon Air Force Base, and Falcon Air Force Station, is a base of the United States Space Force located approximately east of Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs in E ...
(
cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...
the Space Control Center which AFSPC was moving from Cheyenne Mountain to Vandenberg.) In May 2010, USSTRATCOM decided to keep its missile warning center at Cheyenne Mountain, which had begun a $2.9 million renovation in January 2010 (a temporary MWOC facility had to be set up.)


List of directors

* Capt Gervy Alota * Capt Jermaine Brooms, 28 June 2024


References

{{United States Space Command Military units and formations in Colorado Cheyenne Mountain Complex Space units and formations of the United States United States warning systems Centers of the U.S. Department of Defense