USAF ACC

USAF ACC
Unit name	Air Combat Command
Caption	Emblem of Air Combat Command
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Major Command
Role	Air combat forces, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance
Garrison	Joint Base Langley–Eustis
Garrison label	Headquarters
Motto	Guardians of the Sky
Commander	General (placeholder)

USAF ACC Air Combat Command is the principal provider of combat-ready forces for the United States Air Force's global operations. It executes air superiority, precision strike, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and command-and-control for joint and combined campaigns alongside United States Northern Command, United States Central Command, and United States European Command. ACC organizes, trains, and equips wings and groups that operate alongside units from the United States Navy, United States Army, United States Space Force, and allied air forces such as the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and Canadian Forces.

History

ACC was established during the post–Cold War restructuring that followed the end of the Cold War and the implementation of the Goldwater–Nichols Act reforms. Its lineage draws on assets from the inactivated Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command, reflecting shifts after the Gulf War and operations such as Operation Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force. ACC played pivotal roles in the humanitarian and combat sorties of the 1990s, contributing forces to Operation Provide Comfort, Operation Southern Watch, and later to counterterrorism campaigns including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The command adapted through the Global War on Terrorism era and integrated capabilities developed during the Kosovo War and the Balkans engagements.

Mission and Structure

ACC’s mission centers on generating combat-ready air forces to meet theater requirements assigned by the Secretary of Defense and combatant commanders such as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's operational directives. The command’s structure aligns numbered air forces, wings, groups, and squadrons beneath a headquarters at Joint Base Langley–Eustis. It provides expeditionary forces to unified commands including United States Pacific Command and United States Southern Command, and supports multinational operations with partners from NATO and coalition members engaged in operations like Operation Inherent Resolve. Organizational control includes an array of staff directorates handling operations, intelligence, logistics, and plans that interface with agencies such as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Components and Units

ACC comprises multiple numbered air forces and specialized centers. Key subordinate formations include numbered air forces that historically mirror mission sets associated with units like those formerly under Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command. Combat wings under ACC operate out of installations such as Nellis Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base, Langley Field, Ellsworth Air Force Base, and Spangdahlem Air Base. Associated units include intelligence squadrons, electronic warfare groups, and aggression squadrons that train with units from the United States Marine Corps and allied squadrons from the French Air and Space Force and German Air Force. ACC integrates with joint organizations such as the Air Force Special Operations Command for specialized missions and coordinates with the Air Mobility Command for sustainment and deployment.

Aircraft and Equipment

ACC fields a wide variety of combat and support aircraft, including types developed during and after the Vietnam War era and modern platforms like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, and legacy platforms such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms include the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk and manned reconnaissance assets derived from platforms like the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint. Electronic combat and suppression capabilities draw on systems like the EA-18G Growler in joint training, while strike and tanker integration uses aircraft such as the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing KC-46 Pegasus. ACC also employs advanced sensors, datalinks, and command-and-control suites interoperable with systems from Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin.

Operations and Deployments

ACC forces regularly deploy to support operations across multiple theaters, including sustained rotations to bases in Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, and Germany. Deployments have supported contingency operations from Operation Desert Storm through Operation Freedom's Sentinel, and ACC assets contributed to enforcement of no-fly zones, maritime strike coordination with United States Fifth Fleet, and air interdiction in coalition campaigns. Exercises such as Red Flag, Blue Flag, and multinational exercises like NATO Air Meet and Cope Thunder (historic) enhance interoperability with partners including the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Air Force, and Royal Netherlands Air Force. ACC also supports homeland defense missions in collaboration with North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Training and Readiness

Training centers and ranges under ACC include the Nellis Air Force Base ranges and advanced adversary programs that emulate threats from nations referenced in strategic documents such as the National Defense Strategy. Readiness is measured through readiness reporting to the Secretary of the Air Force and through participation in the Combat Air Forces Test and evaluation events. ACC’s training pipelines collaborate with educational institutions such as the Air University and operational test units that have evaluated platforms like the F-35 and F-22 in contested-environment scenarios. Exercises, live-fire ranges, and joint training with allied air forces maintain interoperability with partners including Spain, Italy, Australia, and Israel.

Category:Major commands of the United States Air Force