The wing provides combat-ready theater battle management forces, mobile command control, and communications radar elements at the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

From 1955 through 1976, it was located at McClellan Air Force Base, California, where it operated the Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star aircraft providing radar coverage off the Pacific coast of the United States.

In July 1963, the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida was transferred from the 551st Wing.

[3][6] In 1962, the wing began to support Project Mercury, and in April 1963, it participated in the recovery of Faith 7, and astronaut Gordon Cooper.

Between 1965 and 1973 the EC-121s flew 13,921 combat missions; more than 98,000 accident-free flying hours; assisted in the shoot-down of 25 MiGs; and supported the rescue of 80 downed flyers.

[1] However, its inactive status lasted less than a week, as the Air Force reactivated the unit on 5 May 1976, and redesignated it as the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing (AWACW).

Today wing crews still stand ready to fly daily on short notice to the borders of the United States and Canada providing additional radar coverage required in defense of the North American continent.

In September 1980, the wing deployed E-3s, aircrew, and support personnel to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation "ELF One" (European Liaison Force One) to provide "around-the-clock" airborne radar coverage, and to enhance Saudi Arabian air defenses during the dispute between Iran and Iraq.

Personnel deployed to Egypt following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in October 1981, and to Grenada in November 1983 to support Operation Urgent Fury.

Also following President Ronald Reagan's National Security Decision Directive in 1986 to further expand its counter-narcotic operations, the wing marked the beginning of its anti-drug commitment.

The E-3 aircraft and aircrews flew 7,314.7 combat hours during Desert Storm and controlled 20,401 air refueling sorties with tankers off-loading more than 178 million US gallons (670,000 m3) of gas to 60,543 receivers.

During 1993, the 552d Air Control Wing continued its worldwide force protection mission in support of Operations Provide Comfort and Southern Watch in Southwest Asia.

Four days later, a wing E-3 guided a United States Air Force General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in the interception and destruction of an Iraqi MiG-29.

In October 1995, the first E-3 AWACS aircraft (tail number 80-137) to receive the Block 30/35 upgrade rolled out at Tinker Air Force Base.

One month later, the wing members once again deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Fox, which was also in response to United Nations weapons inspectors being expelled from Iraq and the increase in no-fly zone violations.

RSIP is a joint U.S./NATO development program involving a major hardware and software-intensive modification to the existing radar system.

Installation of RSIP enhances the operational capability of the E-3 radar electronic counter-countermeasures and dramatically improves system reliability, maintainability, and availability.

Another major development in the history of AWACS occurred on 11 September 2001, with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

U.S. AWACS had flown more than 590 Noble Eagle missions by May, totaling nearly 7,100 flying hours supporting homeland defense operations.

After almost 18 months of being at home, the wing re-entered the war on drugs with aircraft, personnel, and equipment deployment to Manta, Ecuador.

In March 2007 the wing returned to the Middle East flying missions in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

The refueling was uneventful, but rather than the normal post-A/R vertical separation maneuver, the E-3 commander asked if it would be OK to join the tanker off the right wing so the passengers could get some good pictures.

On 14 April 1994, two USAF McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles controlled by a 552d E-3 aircraft and aircrew accidentally shot down two US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters while they passed through the northern Iraq no-fly zone.

This accident also provided the genesis for a massive recertification process for all 1,300 airborne warning and control aircrew members.

The helicopter victims received purple hearts when the medal expanded eligibility to include friendly-fire wounds or death.

[citation needed] On 29 August 2009, an E-3 aircraft (83-0008) was written off[8] following a hard landing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.