The squadron was first activated as an Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W Sq) in 1947 at McChord Field, WA[1][2] with a mission to detect and warn of aircraft and defend an area to the west of the Cascade Mountains.

[7] It joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system and was redesignated as a Radar Squadron in 1960.

[8] SADS had been established because of the inadequacy of the radar coverage to the south of the United States that had been dramatically illustrated whan a Cuban MiG-17 went undetected before it landed at Homestead AFB,[8] and two years later, an An-24 similarly arrived unannounced at New Orleans International Airport.

[8] As a result, ADC established SADS with the squadron operating a manual control center at the Houston ARTCC and added radars to supplement the existing Federal Aviation Administration coverage in the area.

[7] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency