Post Attack Command and Control System
Encyclopedia
The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites (both ground and airborne) for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority
would retain sole, exclusive, and complete control over US nuclear weapon
s. Among other components, it included Strategic Air Command
assets such as the LOOKING GLASS
aircraft and mission, and various hardened command and control facilities.
The belief by the Soviet Union
in the reliability of PACCS was a crucial component of the US mutual assured destruction
doctrine, ensuring a long term stalemate
.
headquarters staff, under the direction of General Thomas S. Power
conducted the feasibility of placing a continuous command and control element in an airborne mode. The purpose of such a system would be to use the aircraft as a platform for specially installed communications equipment to insure delivery of command directives to SAC
strike forces in the event ground-based headquarters were destroyed.
The original plan envisioned an aircraft, crew, and command and control team on 15-minute ground alert; this was later changed to a continuous airborne alert posture. The functions of this PACCS Airborne Command Post kept expanding until it became a true alternate command and control system, complete with force status monitoring, initiation or relay of launch/execution directives, a battle staff, communications to support and alternate CINCSAC, and limited capabilities to reconstitute and replan residual resources.
PACCS, in later variants, included an Airborne Launch Control System
(ALCS) capability, which provided an alternate means of execution messages to get to missile combat crew
s and a back-up launch control center
, forcing the Soviet Union
to target each missile silo, rather than just the launch control centers
to incapacitate the Minuteman
force.
National Command Authority
National Command Authority is a term used by the Department of Defense of the United States of America to refer to the ultimate lawful source of military orders. The NCA comprises the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense jointly, or their duly deputized successors, i.e...
would retain sole, exclusive, and complete control over US nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. Among other components, it included Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
assets such as the LOOKING GLASS
Looking Glass (airplane)
Looking Glass is the code name for an airborne command center currently operated by the U.S. Navy. It provides command and control of U.S. nuclear forces in the event that ground-based command centers are destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable.The Looking Glass was initiated by the U.S...
aircraft and mission, and various hardened command and control facilities.
The belief by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the reliability of PACCS was a crucial component of the US mutual assured destruction
Mutual assured destruction
Mutual Assured Destruction, or mutually assured destruction , is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the complete, utter and irrevocable annihilation of...
doctrine, ensuring a long term stalemate
Stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
.
History
The Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
headquarters staff, under the direction of General Thomas S. Power
Thomas S. Power
General Thomas Sarsfield Power was commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command and an active military flier for more than 30 years.-Early career:...
conducted the feasibility of placing a continuous command and control element in an airborne mode. The purpose of such a system would be to use the aircraft as a platform for specially installed communications equipment to insure delivery of command directives to SAC
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
strike forces in the event ground-based headquarters were destroyed.
The original plan envisioned an aircraft, crew, and command and control team on 15-minute ground alert; this was later changed to a continuous airborne alert posture. The functions of this PACCS Airborne Command Post kept expanding until it became a true alternate command and control system, complete with force status monitoring, initiation or relay of launch/execution directives, a battle staff, communications to support and alternate CINCSAC, and limited capabilities to reconstitute and replan residual resources.
PACCS, in later variants, included an Airborne Launch Control System
Airborne Launch Control System
The United States' Airborne Launch Control System is a method of assured command and control of nuclear weapons, specifically ICBMs and SLBMs...
(ALCS) capability, which provided an alternate means of execution messages to get to missile combat crew
Missile combat crew
A missile combat crew , is a team of trained specialists manning Intermediate Range and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile systems . In the United States, men and women of the United States Air Force operate underground missile systems at launch control centers located throughout the country...
s and a back-up launch control center
Launch control center (ICBM)
A launch control center , in the United States, is the main control facility for intercontinental ballistic missiles . A launch control center monitors and controls missile launch facilities. From a launch control center, the missile combat crew can monitor the complex, launch the missile, or relax...
, forcing the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to target each missile silo, rather than just the launch control centers
Launch control center (ICBM)
A launch control center , in the United States, is the main control facility for intercontinental ballistic missiles . A launch control center monitors and controls missile launch facilities. From a launch control center, the missile combat crew can monitor the complex, launch the missile, or relax...
to incapacitate the Minuteman
LGM-30 Minuteman
The LGM-30 Minuteman is a U.S. nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile . As of 2010, the version LGM-30G Minuteman-III is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States...
force.
Airborne
- E-4B National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP)
- 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron1st Airborne Command and Control SquadronThe 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron is part of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It operates the E-4 aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions.-History:...
- Offutt AFB, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
- 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron
- EC-135Boeing EC-135The Boeing EC-135 was a command & control version of the C-135 Stratolifter. Modified for the "Looking Glass" program, during the Cold War EC-135 were airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command platforms for the military in the event of nuclear war...
Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) "Looking Glass"- 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron2d Airborne Command and Control SquadronThe United States Air Force's 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron was an airborne command and control unit located at Offutt AFB, Nebraska...
- Offutt AFB, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River.... - 4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron - Ellsworth AFB, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
- 22d Air Refueling Squadron - March AFB, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; West Auxiliary Command Post (West AUXCP) - 99th Air Refueling Squadron99th Air Refueling SquadronThe 99th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at Birmingham Air National Guard Base, Alabama. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.-History:...
- Westover AFB, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
; East Auxiliary Command Post (East AUXCP) - 913th Air Refueling Squadron913th Air Refueling SquadronThe 913th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 2d Bombardment Wing, stationed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. It was inactivated on 1 November 1981....
- Barksdale AFB, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
; Central Auxiliary Command Post (Central AUX)
- 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron
- EB-47L
- 4362d Post Attack Command and Control Squadron - Lincoln AFB, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
- 4363d Post Attack Command and Control Squadron - Lockborne AFB, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
- 4364th Post Attack Command and Control Squadron - Mountain Home AFB, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
- 4365th Post Attack Command and Control Squadron - Plattsburgh AFB, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- 4362d Post Attack Command and Control Squadron - Lincoln AFB, Nebraska
Ground
- Barksdale AFB, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
(8th Air Force Command Post) - Westover AFB, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(8th Air Force Combat Operations Center, aka "The Notch"Post Attack Command and Control System Facility, HadleyPost Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley is a defunct Post-Attack Command and Control System facility that operated from the June 2, 1958 until 1970. It is located under The Notch on Bare Mountain in Hadley, Massachusetts...
) - March AFB, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(15th Air Force Command Post) - Grissom AFB, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
- Offutt AFB, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
(SACStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
Headquarters)
See also
- Survivable Low Frequency Communications SystemSurvivable Low Frequency Communications SystemThe AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack....
(SLFCSSurvivable Low Frequency Communications SystemThe AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack....
) - Ground Wave Emergency NetworkGround Wave Emergency NetworkThe Ground Wave Emergency Network was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war...
(GWENGround Wave Emergency NetworkThe Ground Wave Emergency Network was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war...
) - Minimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkMinimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkThe Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network is a network of systems providing uninterrupted communications throughout the pre-, trans-, and post-nuclear warfare environment...
(MEECNMinimum Essential Emergency Communications NetworkThe Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network is a network of systems providing uninterrupted communications throughout the pre-, trans-, and post-nuclear warfare environment...
) - Emergency Rocket Communications SystemEmergency Rocket Communications SystemThe Emergency Rocket Communications System was a back-up communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile. ERCS was deactivated as a communication means when President...
(ERCSEmergency Rocket Communications SystemThe Emergency Rocket Communications System was a back-up communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile. ERCS was deactivated as a communication means when President...
) - The Cold War
- Game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
- Continuity of governmentContinuity of governmentContinuity of government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event....