Western Electric System 1393 Radar Course Directing Central

The Central also had a mode for surface-to-surface missions to airburst a nuclear Hercules over a ground target,[1] and the RCDC included a Missile Motion Generator to simulate a Nike trajectory.

[6] After the 10 Army Air Defense Command Posts with Missile Master bunkers were operational in December 1960, battery control areas also had an AN/TSQ-8 Firing Unit Interface Facility for the automated data link (ADL) of digital information[9] between the RCDC and the AADCP's Martin AN/FSG-1 Antiaircraft Defense System.

Personnel of the Nike "Fire Control Platoon"[3]: 3-3  at the RCDC included the Battery Control Officer (BCO), IFC crewmen (specialty 16C20 such as Acquisition Radar crewman, TTR elevation operator, MTR Fireman, etc.

[3]: 2-2 The RCDC was an improved fire control system for the Hercules missile based on a 1952 Ordance Corps study for an advanced attack system (Hercules design studies began in February 1953, and personnel training began in 1956).

[15] The latter Sentinel/Safeguard Programs were never implemented except for Safeguard sites around the Grand Forks AFB missile silos, and RCDCs were deactivated during the 1974 Project Concise end of Project Nike after the 1971-2 SALT I Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

RCDC functional diagram depicting Target Ranging Radar (TRR)
"The battery control officer continually survey[ed] the tactical situation on the plan position indicator " [ 1 ] (large circular scope with light face). The acquisition radar operator was to the left of the BCO and the computer operator was on the right. [ citation needed ] Separate stations at the "target radar control console" and "missile radar control console" were also used. The later Anti Tactical Ballistic Missile (ATBM) version of the battery control console was slightly different.