Editing Nellis Air Force Base (section)

===Nellis AFB===
{{For|the nearby Nellis Air Force Gunnery and Bombing Range named by 18 December 1950|Nevada Test and Training Range}}
[[File:USAF Fighter Weapons School F-80 44-85182.jpg|thumb|Fighter Weapons School F-80As {{circa|lk=no|1950}} in front of [[Frenchman Mountain]], which is east of the valley{{r|USACE2010}}{{rp|3–6}}]]

'''Nellis Air Force Base''' was named on 30 April 1950, and the 20 May 1950 dedication was attended by [[William Harrell Nellis|Lieutenant Nellis]]' family.{{r|AFHRA4095}} By 1 July the Air Force had directed ATC to accelerate [[Korean War]] training for a new 95-wing Air Force. The first school opened at Nellis, and ATC redesignated the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) as the [[3595th Training Wing]] (Combat Crew).{{r|Manning}} On 17 July 1950, Nellis began a replacement pilot training program to provide 115 [[Far East Air Force (United States)|FEAF]] F-51 Mustang pilots and 92 combat-ready [[F-80 Shooting Star]] pilots. Nellis' advanced single-engine pilot training [[Craig AFB|transferred to Alabama]] on 1 September 1950.{{Which|reason=Which unit transferred to Craig AFB, was deactivated at Nellis, or switched to fighter-bomber training?|date=June 2013}} Nellis assumed fighter-bomber training, and ATC established its [[USAF Air Crew School]] (Fighter) on 14 November 1950, equipped with F-80s and early-model [[F-84C Thunderjet]]s. On 1 October, Nellis AFB base management functions transferred{{Specify|reason=What was the unit name that transferred?|date=June 2013}} from Williams AFB.{{r|Manning}} In early 1951, ATC assigned recently graduated airplane and engine mechanics to Nellis to learn jet aircraft maintenance.{{r|Manning}} The airfield was expanded 1951–1954 with longer jet-capable runways, reconfigured taxiways and a larger aircraft parking ramp; and World War II wooden structures were replaced with concrete and steel structures (e.g., barracks and base housing for married personnel). The first [[Kenneth_S._Wherry|Wherry]] houses were completed in 1954, with updated [[Homer_E._Capehart|Capehart]] houses being completed in February 1960.{{r|Mueller}}

====USAF Fighter Weapons School====
The [[USAF Weapons School|USAF Fighter Weapons School]] was designated on 1 January 1954 from the squadron{{Verify source|reason=Was the predecessor the 3595th Training Wing and not a squadron?|date=June 2013}} when the Air Crew School graduated its last Combat Crew Training Class (the primary Weapons School mission was gunnery instructor training).{{r|Manning}} In the mid-1950s for [[Operation Teapot]] nuclear testing, 1 of the 12 Zone Commanders was based at Nellis AFB for community liaison/public relations<ref name=Teapot>Operation Teapot report</ref> (weapons for other atomic tests were stored at Nellis).{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} [[Air Training Command]] suspended training at the Nellis fighter weapons school in late 1956 because of the almost total failure{{Clarify|reason=What type of failure? Did the aircraft fail in the air and crash, on the ground and not take off, or just not perform well enough for the mission?|date=June 2013}} of the F-86 Sabre aircraft used at Nellis,{{r|Manning}} and during 1958 ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training.

====Tactical Air Command====
[[File:USAF F-100 Super Sabre fighter taking off from Nellis AFB Nevada circa 1959.jpg|thumb|right|An [[F-100D Super Sabre]] fighter jet (s/n 56-2910) taking off from Nellis, circa 1959|alt=Rear quarter view of a jet fighter taking off with mountainous terrain visible in the distance]]

Nellis AFB transferred to Tactical Air Command on 1 February 1958,{{r|Manning}} and the Nellis mission transitioned from initial aircraft qualification and gunnery training to advanced, graduate-level weapons training. Soon after the transfer to TAC, the F-100C, F-100D, and [[tandem|tandem cockpit]] F-100F entered the school inventory. On 21 April 1958 an F-100F on a training flight out of Nellis was involved in a mid-air collision with [[United Airlines Flight 736]]. All 47 aboard the airliner and both Air Force pilots in the fighter jet were killed.<ref name="asn">{{ASN accident|id=19580421-0|title=April 21, 1958 mid-air between United Airlines DC-7 and Air Force F-100 near Las Vegas, NV}}</ref> The 3595th wing assets were redesignated as the 4520th Combat Crew Training Group by TAC on 1 July 1958.

=====4520th Combat Crew Training Wing=====
[[File:4536th Fighter Weapons Squadron - North American F-100D-30-NA Super Sabre 55-3703.jpg|thumb|The Nellis control tower behind a 4536th F-100D ("WB" tail code). In July 1968 the first tail codes appeared on Nellis-based aircraft:<ref name="Martin">Martin, Patrick (1994). ''Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings''. Schiffer Military Aviation History. {{ISBN|0-88740-513-4}}.</ref> "WC" (4537th [[F-105]]), "WD" (4538th [[F-4C]]), & "WF" (4539th F-111). |alt=|left]]

The 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing was designated from the 4520th CCTG on 1 May 1961, and the Combat Crew training squadrons were renumbered.{{r|Mueller}} The 4537th Fighter Weapons Squadron had been assigned [[F-105D Thunderchief]]s in March 1961, and the wing taught veteran pilots in all phases of fighter weapon employment: air-to-air gunnery, rocketry, conventional and nuclear bombing, aerial refueling, and combat navigation. The [[F-4 Phantom II]] Instructor Course began in mid-1965{{r|Wilman}} and during the [[Vietnam War]], experienced combat pilots were used as Fighter Weapons instructors at Nellis. On 1 January 1966 the [[USAF Fighter Weapons School]] was activated at Nellis with F-100, F-4, and F-105 divisions and on 1 September 1966, Fighter Weapons School elements and the 4520th CCTW merged to activate the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing.{{r|Mueller}}

=====USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center=====
The [[USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center]] activated at Nellis AFB on 1 January 1966 (USAF Warfare Center after 15 November 2005) is the USAF authority for employment of tactical fighter weapons.<ref name="fs" /> The center has developed, refined, coordinated, validated and tested fighter concepts, doctrine, tactics, and procedures.  The FWC also performed operational test and evaluation and prepared or monitored Air Force publications on employment tactics, aircrew training, and aircrew weapons delivery. It has supervised courses of the US Air Force Fighter Weapons School, adversary tactics training, and [[Wild Weasel]] training, and other combat and tactical schools.<ref name="fs" />

The FWC supervised Red Flag operational training and other continuing air exercises, such as Green Flag and Silver Flag Alpha. The center also directed operations of the US Air Force [[Bomber and Tanker, Employment School]] since 1992 and the [[Air Rescue Center]] since 1993.<ref name="fs" /> The [[USAF Air Demonstration Squadron]] with the [[United States Air Force Thunderbirds]] moved [[Luke Air Force Base|from Arizona]] to Nellis AFB in June 1956.<ref name="fs" />

=====474th Tactical Fighter Wing=====
The [[474th Tactical Fighter Wing]] was reassigned [[Cannon Air Force Base|from New Mexico]] to Nellis AFB on 20 January 1968{{r|Mueller}} and was the first USAF operational wing equipped with the [[General Dynamics F-111]]<ref name="F111">Thornborough, Tony (1993), Osprey Aerospace, 1993. F-111 Aardvark—USAF's Ultimate Strike Aircraft {{ISBN|1-85532-259-5}}</ref>—6 of the F-111As departed Nellis [[Takhli RTAFB|for Vietnam]] on 15 March 1968 ([[Combat Lancer]]). Nellis provided replacements for 2 lost F-111s, and the F-111s returned to the USA{{Where|date=June 2012}} in November 1968.<ref name="F111" /> The wing's 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron reached [[initial operational capability|IOC]] in spring 1968 with F-111s, and the TFW was fully operational in July 1971.<ref name="F111" /> The [[Lake Mead Base]], a 1953–6 [[United States Navy]]'s weapons storage area of {{Convert|6999|acre|abbr=on|disp=flip}}, became Area II of the Nellis AFB complex in September 1969.{{r|USACE2010}}

The 430th TFS returned to the 474th TFW Nellis on 22 March 1973 assuming a replacement training unit mission, while the 428th and 429th were transferred to [[Mountain Home AFB]] on 30 July 1973. Post-war the 474th's mission was to train combat-ready force of aircrews and maintained a rapid-reaction capability to execute fighter attacks against enemy forces and facilities in time of crisis.<ref name="F111" /> In 1975, the 428th and 429th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were reassigned to the wing with F-111As (transferred to [[Mountain Home AFB]], Idaho, in August 1977)<ref name="F111" /> and the 474th Wing absorbed the [[F-4D Phantom II]] aircraft, crews, and resources of the inactivating provisional 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis in April 1977.{{r|Mueller}} The wing was inactivated in September 1989, and its F-16As transferred to [[Air National Guard]] and [[Air Force Reserve]] squadrons.{{r|Mueller}}

=====57th Fighter Weapons Wing=====
[[File:US Air Force Thunderbirds.jpg|thumb|The United States Air Force [[United States Air Force Thunderbirds|Thunderbirds]]]]

The [[57th Fighter Weapons Wing]] was activated at Nellis on 15 October 1969 to replace the 4525th FWW (its [[Fighter Weapons Squadron]]s transferred to the 57th).{{r|Mueller}} The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the "[[U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds|Thunderbirds]]") was assigned to the 57th in February 1974, and the wing incorporated [[military intelligence|intelligence]] training after March 1980.{{r|Mueller}} Redesignated the 57th Tactical Training Wing in 1977, the wing trained [[military tactics|tactical]] [[fighter aircraft|fighter]] aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics. The 57th's [[4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag)]] assumed operational control of Red Flag exercises in October 1979; and the 57th developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and [[electronic warfare]].{{r|Mueller}}

Nellis' [[4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight]] ("Red Eagles") operated [[MiG-17]]s, [[MiG-21]]s and [[MiG-23]]s at the [[Tonopah Test Range Airport]] (late 1960s-{{circa|lk=no|1990}}) to simulate combat against U.S. combat aircraft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Steve |year=2008 |title=Red Eagles. America's Secret MiGs |publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref> Named [[Constant Peg]] in 1980, the operation assessed the Soviet technology and developed adversary tactics for dissimilar air combat training.  After completion of training, the Aggressor pilots were assigned to the [[DACT squadrons]], one of which was assigned to Nellis.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Constant Peg |journal=Air Force Magazine |date=April 2007 |volume=90 |issue=4}}</ref> During the 1970s, [[Las Vegas Air Force Station|a site northwest of Nellis]] evaluated a Soviet "Barlock" search radar to develop techniques for countering Soviet air defense systems.<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Winkler |first1=David F |last2=Webster |first2=Julie L |date=June 1997 |title=Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA331231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201202922/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA331231 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2012 |location=Champaign, IL |lccn=97020912 |publisher=U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories |access-date=23 April 2013 }}</ref>{{Failed verification|reason=A search of "Barlock" indicates it does not appear in the source.|date=June 2013}}

[[File:66th Fighter Weapons Squadron - McDonnell Douglas F-4E-38-MC Phantom 68-0400.jpg|thumb|The Las Vegas Range of mountains is visible beyond a 66th FWS F-4E on the Nellis tarmac.|alt=|left]]

The [[USAF Fighter Weapons School]] reactivated 30 December 1981 in the 57th wing{{r|AFHRA15354}} and the 66th, 414th and 433d Fighter Weapons Squadrons became its "A-10", "F-4E" and "F-15A" divisions (the 414th was the "Red Flag Training Squadron" in 1996).{{r|Manning}}{{rp|205}} The 422d FWS aircraft and personnel became the "F-16 Division" and the squadron heraldry transferred to the [[422d Test and Evaluation Squadron]].{{r|Mueller}} The FWS mission expanded on 15 June 1993 to include all [[Air Combat Command]] weapons ([[B-52]] & [[B-1 Lancer|B-1]] Divisions) and in 1995, rescue helicopters ([[HH-60]] Division). RC-135 Rivet Joint and EC-130 Compass Call courses were also added to the CCO Division in 1995, as well as a Space Division in 1996 (UAVs in 2008).<ref name="AFHRA15354">{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Patsy |quote=Posted 8/19/2009 |title=USAF Weapons School (ACC) |url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15354 |format=AFHRA fact sheet |access-date=10 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220113845/http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15354 |archive-date=20 February 2013 }}</ref>

In 1981, the [[Gunsmoke (aerial gunnery competition)|Gunsmoke]] gunnery meet was first held{{r|Rininger}} and the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing was reorganized as part of the establishment of the Fighter Weapons School, e.g., the [[422d Test and Evaluation Squadron]] for aircraft modifications was established on 30 December 1981 from the 422d Fighter Weapons Squadron. In 1990, the [[64th Aggressor Squadron|64th]] and [[65th Aggressor Squadron|65th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadron]]s and the 4440th TFTG were inactivated in 1990 at the end of the Cold War.{{r|Martin}} In November 1991, the 57th implemented the USAF Objective Wing organization which was the most comprehensive USAF reorganization plan since 1947,<ref name="Rogers">Rogers, Brian (2005). ''United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978''. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. {{ISBN|1-85780-197-0}}.</ref> activating the [[57th Operations Group]] for Nellis airfield operations and establishing the [[57th Test Group]].<ref name="fs" />

====Air Combat Command====
[[File:140128-F-TT327-499 (12286137733).jpg|thumb|64th Aggressor Squadron F-16 takes off from Nellis AFB during Red Flag 14-1]]

Nellis transferred to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992,{{r|USACE2010}} at the end of the [[Cold War]] when [[Tactical Air Command]] was inactivated. The [[57th Wing]] was designated on 15 June 1993 from the 57th Operations Group in conjunction with the introduction of the [[RQ-1 Predator]] and [[MQ-9 Reaper]] unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The USAF Combat Rescue School was also established in 1993 for [[HH-60 Pave Hawk]] instructional flying.<ref name="Rogers" /> "In 1996, AETC moved the [[PJ Advanced Weapons Course]] from Nellis AFB to Kirtland AFB".{{r|Manning}}{{rp|319}} The [[98th Range Wing]] was activated at Nellis on 29 October 2001 for [[Nellis Air Force Range]] control (previous range control was by the FWC).{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} After Detachment 13, 372d Training Squadron opened its F/A-22 maintenance training facility on 29 November 2001,{{r|Manning}}{{rp|324}} on 14 January 2003 Nellis received the first production [[F-22A]] Raptor for the F-22 Force Development Evaluation program and Weapons School (12 Raptors had been assigned to the [[422d Test and Evaluation Squadron]] by July 2008).<ref name="fs" />

[[Dissimilar Air Combat Training|"Aggressor" training]] was reactivated under the 57th Operations Group in 2003<ref name="fs" /> and in 2006 Nellis had the Air Ground Operations School.{{r|Rininger}}{{rp|13}} On 1 May 2007, the [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAV]] reconnaissance elements assigned to the 57th Operations Group transferred to the [[432nd Wing]].<ref name="fs" /> Detachment 1 of the [[Space Warfare Center]] was established at Nellis in 1996 after the "Nellis [[Combined Air Operations Center]]",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambeth |first=Benjamin S. |title=Mastering the Ultimate High Ground: Next Steps in the Military Uses of Space |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfYaaQPHeb0C&pg=PA131|year=1999|publisher=Rand Corporation|isbn=978-0-8330-3412-0|page=131}}</ref> the Warfare Center transferred [[Nellis Air Force Range]] control to the [[98th Range Wing]] in 2001,<ref name="fs" /> and the annual [[Aviation Nation]] airshow began at Nellis in 2002. The [[Nellis Solar Power Plant]] constructed 23 April–December 2007 on Nellis' west side was visited by president [[Barack Obama]] on 27 May 2009. In 2010, the 505th Operations Squadron operated the [[Combined Air and Space Operations Center]]-Nellis.<ref>{{Cite web |quote=Posted 3/3/2010 |title=Combined Air and Space Operations Center-Nellis |url=http://www.505ccw.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15313 |format=fact sheet |publisher=Public Affairs, [[505th Command and Control Wing]] |access-date=6 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218103655/http://www.505ccw.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15313 |archive-date=18 February 2013 }}</ref>

The [[57th Adversary Tactics Group]] merged into the [[57th Operations Group]] on 31 March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=57th OG, ATG merge functions, streamlines mission readiness|url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2135072/57th-og-atg-merge-functions-streamlines-mission-readiness/|last=West|first=Master Sgt. Heidi|date=3 April 2020|website=US Air Force|language=en-US|access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref> On 1 June 2020 the 800th Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE) Group activated at Nellis, with the  820th Red Horse Squadron as a subordinate unit.<ref>{{Cite web|title=800th RED HORSE Group|url=https://www.9af.acc.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/2203145/800th-red-horse-group/|access-date=21 August 2020|website=15th Air Force|publisher=US Air Force|language=en-US}}</ref>