99th Range Group

The 99th Range Group was a United States Air Force unit responsible for range management and electronic combat evaluation rather than a commercial brand. Its institutional lineage developed from the post-Second World War radar bomb-scoring organizations that measured the performance of bomber crews and assessed the accuracy of simulated bombing missions. The unit’s early predecessors controlled radar detachments positioned at several U.S. airfields and supported the Strategic Air Command’s training and evaluation system. The organization was formally constituted as the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group on 9 June 1954 and activated on 10 August of that year. Based initially at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, it operated under Strategic Air Command and included radar bomb-scoring squadrons that supported bomber training. Radar bomb scoring used ground-based radar and associated instrumentation to calculate the simulated release point and accuracy of aircraft weapons deliveries, allowing crews to be evaluated without live bombing of the intended target. In 1961, the group was redesignated the 1st Combat Evaluation Group. This change reflected an expanded mission beyond conventional radar bomb scoring. The organization became associated with broader command-level evaluation and standardization activities, including electronic combat assessment. Its personnel and equipment supported Combat Skyspot operations during the Vietnam War, a system that used radar-guided bombing control to assist aircraft operating in conditions where visual target acquisition was difficult. The unit was redesignated the 1st Electronic Combat Range Group in 1989. In 1992, following a United States Air Force policy requiring subordinate groups to carry the numerical designation of their parent wing, it became the 99th Electronic Combat Range Group. On 1 October 1995, after moving to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, it received its final designation as the 99th Range Group. At Nellis, its principal responsibility was management of the Nevada Test and Training Range, a large military aviation test and training area used for aircrew training, weapons evaluation, electronic warfare activities, and related operational testing. During its final phase, the group included the 99th Range Squadron and the 99th Range Support Squadron. These organizations supported the range’s operating, technical, and administrative requirements. The group remained assigned to the organization that became the 99th Air Base Wing and continued to carry out the Nevada range-management mission until that responsibility was transferred to its parent organization. The 99th Range Group was inactivated on 7 February 2000. Its history is therefore best understood as the evolution of a U.S. military evaluation and range-management unit, not as a consumer-facing brand or independent commercial enterprise.

The lineage associated with the 99th Range Group began during the reorganization of U.S. Army Air Forces radar bomb-scoring activities after the Second World War. On 6 June 1945, the 206th Army Air Force Base Unit (Radar Bomb Scoring) was organized at Colorado Springs. It initially exercised control over radar bomb-scoring detachments at Kansas City and Fort Worth Army Airfield. The organization was redesignated the 63rd Army Air Force Base Unit in July 1945 and operated from Mitchel Field, New York, before returning to Colorado Springs in March 1946, when it became the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit. After the 263rd unit moved from Fifteenth Air Force control to Strategic Air Command, it was redesignated the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron effective 1 August 1948. By 1949, it controlled the Denver Bomb Plot radar bomb-scoring detachment. The radar bomb-scoring mission provided bomber crews with instrumented evaluations of simulated weapons deliveries. Ground stations tracked aircraft and calculated bombing results, giving Strategic Air Command a standardized method for judging crew proficiency and aircraft performance. The formal predecessor of the later range group was constituted as the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group on 9 June 1954 and activated on 10 August 1954 at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. It was assigned to Strategic Air Command and included the 10th, 11th, and 12th Radar Bomb Scoring Squadrons. A 10th SHORAN Beacon Flight was also associated with the organization during part of this period. The group’s activities formed part of the command’s wider bomber-training and evaluation structure. On 24 July 1961, the organization moved to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. On 1 August 1961, the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group was redesignated the 1st Combat Evaluation Group. The change accompanied the consolidation of radar bomb-scoring and command-level standardization and evaluation functions. The group’s scope increasingly included electronic combat assessment and related operational support. Its personnel participated in Combat Skyspot operations during the Vietnam War, applying radar-based control and evaluation techniques in combat conditions. The organization’s electronic-range identity became explicit on 1 July 1989, when it was redesignated the 1st Electronic Combat Range Group following the reorganization of the 1st Combat Evaluation Group. A detachment associated with the earlier combat-evaluation structure had moved from Wall, South Dakota, to Holbrook, Arizona, in 1968, illustrating the geographically distributed nature of the radar and electronic-range mission. During the early 1990s, the organization supported the closing phase of radar bomb-scoring and electronic-countermeasures sorties. The last combined radar-bomb-scoring/electronic-countermeasures sortie occurred in September 1993, followed by an electronic-countermeasures-only sortie later that month; the period afterward was used to decommission associated systems. On 1 August 1992, the group became the 99th Electronic Combat Range Group. This designation reflected an Air Force policy aligning subordinate group numbers with those of their parent wings. On 1 October 1995, the organization moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and was redesignated the 99th Range Group. It assumed responsibility for managing the Nevada Test and Training Range, one of the United States Air Force’s principal areas for large-scale aviation training, weapons testing, electronic warfare activity, and operational evaluation. At Nellis, the group’s subordinate structure included the 99th Range Squadron and the 99th Range Support Squadron. The group was assigned to the organization that successively carried the designations 99th Strategic Weapons Wing, 99th Tactics and Training Wing, 99th Wing, and 99th Air Base Wing. Its final role centered on range administration and support rather than the earlier radar bomb-scoring mission. The range-management function ultimately transferred to the parent organization, and the 99th Range Group was inactivated on 7 February 2000.

• 2000

  Inactivated

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 99th Range Group was inactivated on 7 February after its range-management mission transferred to its parent organization.

• 1995

  Became the 99th Range Group

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 October, the group moved to Nellis Air Force Base and assumed management of the Nevada Test and Training Range.

• 1992

  Redesignated 99th Electronic Combat Range Group

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 August, it received the 99th numerical designation to align with its parent wing.

• 1989

  Redesignated 1st Electronic Combat Range Group

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted an electronic combat range role on 1 July following the reorganization of the combat-evaluation structure.

• 1961

  Redesignated 1st Combat Evaluation Group

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was redesignated on 1 August, broadening its identity from radar bomb scoring to combat evaluation and standardization.

• 1954

  1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group activated

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group was constituted on 9 June and activated on 10 August at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.

• 1946

  Predecessor redesignated and relocated

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization became the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit after returning to Colorado Springs from Mitchel Field.

• 1945

  Radar bomb-scoring predecessor organized

  [1]99th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 206th Army Air Force Base Unit (Radar Bomb Scoring) was organized at Colorado Springs and assumed control of radar bomb-scoring detachments.

A United States Air Force operational support and evaluation organization focused on radar bomb scoring, electronic combat range activity, aircrew assessment, and management of the Nevada Test and Training Range.

1. 199th Range Groupen.wikipedia.org