Air Combat Command

Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of the nine major commands of the United States Air Force and serves as the service’s primary provider of air combat forces. Reporting to Headquarters United States Air Force at the Pentagon, ACC acts as the direct organisational successor to the former Tactical Air Command. It is headquartered at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia, and commands a diverse fleet of combat aircraft, surveillance systems, rescue units and intelligence capabilities essential to both national defence and overseas operations.

Structure and Operational Capacity

ACC operates a broad range of aircraft, including fighter, attack, reconnaissance, combat search and rescue, electronic warfare, and airborne early warning and control platforms. These are supported by extensive command and control (C4I) systems and Air Force ground components responsible for information and intelligence operations.
As of April 2023, ACC controlled 48 fighter squadrons and nine attack squadrons, forming the backbone of the Air Force’s tactical aviation capability. The command includes approximately 74,240 active-duty personnel and 10,610 civilian employees. When required, ACC can also mobilise over 49,000 Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen and gain operational control of more than 700 additional aircraft, bringing its total strength to over 1,800 aircraft and 123,240 Airmen.

Mission and Responsibilities

The mission of Air Combat Command is to organise, train, equip and maintain combat-ready forces capable of rapid global deployment. ACC provides air combat forces to the United States’ geographic Unified Combatant Commands, while also ensuring robust air defence of the nation during both peace and conflict.
ACC’s Numbered Air Forces act as the air components for:

• United States Central Command
• United States Southern Command
• United States Northern Command

The command also augments airpower support to:

• United States European Command
• United States Africa Command
• United States Indo-Pacific Command
• United States Strategic Command

This broad involvement underscores ACC’s central role in American global force projection and homeland security.

Formation and Early History

Air Combat Command was established on 1 June 1992 following the inactivation of Tactical Air Command (TAC), Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Military Airlift Command (MAC). Upon its creation, ACC inherited TAC’s fighter force, SAC’s strategic bomber and reconnaissance assets, battle management systems and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It also controlled a number of aerial refuelling aircraft and C-130 tactical airlift units.
In 1993, responsibility for the ICBM force transferred from ACC to Air Force Space Command and later, in 2009, to Air Force Global Strike Command. The inactivation of SAC also led to the creation of United States Strategic Command, a unified command overseeing strategic nuclear forces of both the Air Force and Navy.
Historically, the term “Combat Command” dates back to an earlier army air organisation. Between 1941 and 1942, the Air Force Combat Command served as the primary tactical air unit under the War Department before being dissolved during the reorganisation that formed the United States Army Air Forces on 9 March 1942.

Mission Realignments

Following its activation, ACC experienced several significant mission and organisational changes:
Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)In 1993, ACC assumed responsibility for the combat search and rescue mission from Air Mobility Command. The Air Rescue Service was assigned to ACC on 1 February, and later that year it was disestablished, with rescue units becoming fully integrated into the command. The USAF Combat Rescue School was placed under the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base.
Flying TrainingInitially responsible for several aircraft-specific training programmes, ACC transferred the 58th and 325th Fighter Wings to Air Education and Training Command (AETC) in 1993. This move shifted F-16 and F-15 initial and continuation training to AETC. Tyndall Air Force Base and the 325th Fighter Wing remained with AETC until returning to ACC in 2012.
Tanker and Airlift RealignmentDuring the 1990s, the Air Force refined the division of aerial refuelling and airlift assets. ACC temporarily controlled certain C-130 airlift units, KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers. By late 1993 and into 1994, most KC-135 and KC-10 units were reassigned to Air Mobility Command, while C-130 responsibilities were shifted between ACC and AMC multiple times. A later reorganisation in 1997 moved all continental U.S.-based C-130s back to AMC, leaving USAFE and PACAF with claimancy over C-130s stationed in their regions.

Operational Deployments and Support

ACC has played a vital role in numerous military and humanitarian operations:

• Southwest Asia: Provided forces for post–Gulf War deterrence and responded rapidly to Iraqi troop movements in 1994.
• Counterdrug operations: Supported interdiction missions with AWACS, reconnaissance aircraft and fighter escorts.
• Humanitarian missions:
  • Operation Provide Promise: Humanitarian airlift to Sarajevo.
  • Operation Deny Flight: Enforcement of the Bosnian no-fly zone.
  • Operation Provide Comfort: Relief for Kurdish populations in northern Iraq.
  • Operations GTMO, Safe Haven and Safe Passage: Support for Haitian and Cuban refugee processing.
  • Operation Restore Hope: Aid to Somalia, working alongside AMC.
  • Operation Support Hope: Relief efforts in Uganda and Kenya.