It reactivated in 1958 as the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing, executing air defense operations over Japan and deterring North Korea, being inactivated in 1960.

The upraised sword represents the strength and readiness of the 21st Space Wing to perform its mission, in both peace and war.

[6] In September and October 1953, each of the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing's squadrons rotated through a two-week arctic indoctrination program at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska to prepare it for winter warfare operations.

[6] On 22 June 1954 it was announced that the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing would be transferred to Europe to reinforce NATO forces deterring the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact.

The fighter-bomber squadrons deployed in four tranches between November 1954 and January 1955, with flying units making stopovers at Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland.

They also took part in USAFE's gunnery meet at Wheelus Field, Libya and the "Carte Blanche" atomic warfare exercise.

In 1956, the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing also took second place at the gunnery meet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and won the USAFE Award for Tactical Proficiency for January–June 1957.

[6] Among the pilots of the 21st Fighter-Bomber wing was then First Lieutenant Michael Collins, who would later go on to become a NASA astronaut on Apollo 11, the first crewed mission to the Moon.

The 21 TFW was also postured to perform strategic bombing against North Korea as enumerated in the Quick Strike contingency plan, if hostilities broke out again.

At the time of reactivation both the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron and 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron flew Republic F-84G Thunderjet fighter-bomber, however, the 531 TFS began transitioning to the North American F-100D Super Sabre, with the 416 TFS performing the warfighting mission in the interim.

[6] Even with two units transitioning to different platforms, the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing still managed to achieve an "Excellent" rating in the Fifth Air Force's tactical evaluation and operational readiness inspection in August and September 1959, achieving the best bomb score average in the history of the Fifth Air Force.

On 7 August 1959, two F-100D's from the 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron conducted the first transpolar flight by American jet aircraft, flying from Weathersfield, England to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

317 FIS was considered an elite unit, having been the only squadron to have won the Hughes Achievement Trophy for air defense three times.

The 17th Troop Carrier Squadron, which was redesignated the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron in 1967, conducted the airlift mission with Douglas C-124 Globemaster II and Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transports, performing resupply to Alaskan Air Command and Army air defense and space tracking radars.

17 TAS also stationed two cold-weather C-130s at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland to support the Distant Early Warning Line.

In 1970 the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 21st Composite Wing and equipped with advanced McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II.

In June 1972 the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron sent a detachment to Operation Cool Shoot at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and was awarded the Hughes Achievement Trophy in December of that year.

21 CW continued to compete in exercised during 1976, including Jack Frost, the Tactical Air Command Weapons System Evaluation Program at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and the William Tell fighter weapons competition in October and November at Tyndall AFB, where the 21st Composite Wing won the awards for the best F-4 crew, best maintenance crew, the Apple Splitter award for most drones destroyed, and the Top Gun award.

[6] In 1975 the 21st Composite Wing was divested of its helicopter and transport forces and inactivated the 5021st Helicopter Squadron, which were realigned under Military Airlift Command across the Air Force, however the 21 CW gained two airbase wings and responsibility for all of Alaska's air control and missile and space warning sites.

The 18th Tactical Squadron was moved to the 343rd Composite Wing, where it was equipped with A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack planes.

The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing became the first unit in the Air Force to reach Initial Operitonal Capability on the F-15 without any outside assistance.

The 21st Tactical Fighter Wing also hosted numerous dignitaries, such as President George H. W. Bush on his way to the state funeral of the Emperor of Japan Hirohito.

In 1989, F-15Cs of the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing escorted the first two Soviet Air Forces Mikoyan MiG-29s to attend an airshow in North America.

The 10th Space Warning Squadron, stationed at Cavalier Air Force Station, operated the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS), which served as part of the sea launched ballistic missile warning network for the Arctic region.

Morón would receive the El Raven telescope in November 2005 and the RO4 high-volume superior resolution camera in June 2006 to enhance its space control mission.

The 21st Space Wing also lost its last renaming aviation mission with the transition of the 84th Airlift Flight and its Learjet C-21 transports to Air Mobility Command in 1997.

[6] During the September 11 attacks the 21st Space Wing went to a heightened alert, closing the blast doors at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex for the first time in history.

[6] As part of the Air Force's manpower reductions, in July 2004 the 18th Space Control Squadron was inactivated and its detachments were realigned under the 21st Operations Group.

[6] In April 2013, the 13th Space Warning Squadron began oversight of the Cobra Dane radar site in Alaska.

These included Airman First Class Matthew Seidler, a member of the 21st Civil Engineering Squadron, Explosive Ordinance Disposal Flight, who was killed in action on 5 January 2012 and Captain David Lyon, an officer of the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron and member of the United States Air Force Academy's class of 2008, was killed in Afghanistan on 27 December 2013.