1. Evolution of Air Defense Command and the Point Interceptor.
- Author
-
Johnson, E.R.
- Subjects
- *
AIR defenses , *NUCLEAR weapons , *FIGHTER planes , *ELECTRONIC systems , *DETECTORS , *RADAR , *AIR warfare - Abstract
The article focuses on the evolution of air defense command and point interceptor. By mid-1949, the Soviets had tested an atomic bomb and, according to intelligence estimates, were building aircraft capable of reaching the continental U.S. More significant, the U.S. military was not adequately prepared to meet the emerging threat. There was no effective early warning system, and the only aircraft available to intercept a potential Soviet bomber force were obsolescent radar-equipped and propeller-driven planes. The Air Defense Command (ADC) had been created in early 1946 as part of a general postwar U.S. Army Air Forces reorganization and was absorbed into the newly independent U.S. Air Force in July 1947
- Published
- 2005