Equipment of Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command equipment includes weapon systems and ordnance (e.g., strategic weapons such as ICBMs), ground radars and computers (e.g., at SSN 1979-82), and other Cold War devices of the USAF major command.

Special Weapons Emergency Separation System

This system (SWESS), also known informally as the dead man's switch, was a nuclear bomb release system that the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command built into bombers such as the B-52 Stratofortress. The system's purpose was to ensure that an aircraft's payload of nuclear weapons would detonate in the event of the crew becoming debilitated by enemy defences such as missiles.^[1] Once armed, the system would ensure that the onboard nuclear weapons detonated if the aircraft dropped below a predetermined altitude.

SAC Equipment

SAC Equipment
Type	Model	Start	End
Combat aircraft	B-1 Lancer	1986	1992
Combat aircraft	B-17 Flying Fortress (RB-17G)	1946	1951
Combat aircraft	A-26 Invader (RB-26)	1949	1950
Combat aircraft	B-29 Superfortress	1946	1953
Combat aircraft	B-36 Peacemaker	1948	1958
Combat aircraft	B-45 Tornado	1950	1953
Combat aircraft	B-47 Stratojet	1951	1965
Combat aircraft	B-50 Superfortress	1948	1954
Combat aircraft	B-52 Stratofortress	1955	1992
Combat aircraft	B-57 Canberra	1956	1962
Combat aircraft	B-58 Hustler	1960	1969
Combat aircraft	C-119 Flying Boxcar	1956	1973
Combat aircraft	DC-130 Hercules	1966	1976
Combat aircraft	EC-135 Looking Glass	1963	1992
Combat aircraft	F-2 Expeditor (F=Fotorecon; C-45)
Combat aircraft	F-6 Mustang (F=Fotorecon; P-51)
Combat aircraft	F-9 Flying Fortress (F=Fotorecon; B-17F/G)
Combat aircraft	F-13 Superfortress (F=Fotorecon; B-29A)
Combat aircraft	F-47 Thunderbolt (P-47)	1946	1947
Combat aircraft	F-51 Mustang (P-51)	1946	1949
Combat aircraft	F-82 Twin Mustang	1947	1950
Combat aircraft	F-80 Shooting Star	1946	1948
Combat aircraft	F-84 Thunderjet	1948	1957
Combat aircraft	F-86 Sabre	1949	1950
Combat aircraft	F-102 Delta Dagger	1960	1976
Combat aircraft	FB-111 Aardvark	1969	1990
Combat aircraft	KC-10 Extender	1981	1992
Combat aircraft	KB-29	1949	1956
Combat aircraft	KC-97 Stratofreighter SAC	1951	1964
Combat aircraft	KC-135 Stratotanker SAC	1957	1991
Combat aircraft	RC-45 Expeditor
Combat aircraft	RC-135
Combat aircraft	SR-71 Blackbird	1966	1991
Combat aircraft	U-2 Dragon Lady	1962	1991
Combat aircraft	TR-1 Dragon Lady	1989	1991
Support aircraft	UC-45 Expeditor
Support aircraft	AT-11 Kansan
Support aircraft	B-26 Invader	1949	1950
Support aircraft	C-45 Expeditor	1946	1951
Support aircraft	C-47 Skytrain	1946	1947
Support aircraft	C-54 Skymaster	1946	1975
Support aircraft	C-82 Packet	1946	1947
Support aircraft	C-97 Stratofreighter	1949	1978
Support aircraft	C-118 Liftmaster	1957	1975
Support aircraft	C-124 Globemaster II	1959	1962
Support aircraft	C-131 Samaritan
Support aircraft	C-135 Stratolifter
Support aircraft	CH-3 Sea King SAC c. 1960s
Support aircraft	HU-16 Albatross SAC c. 1950s/1960s
Support aircraft	L-4 Grasshopper	1949	1950
Support aircraft	L-5 Sentinel	1949	1950
Support aircraft	L-13 Grasshopper	1949	1950
Support aircraft	PBY Catalina
Support aircraft	T-38 Talon	1981	1991
Support aircraft	UH-1 Iroquois	1966	1992
Missile	ADM-20 Quail
Missile	AGM-28 Hound Dog
Missile	AGM-69 SRAM
Missile	AGM-84 Harpoon
Missile	AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile
Missile	AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile
Missile	HGM-16 Atlas
Missile	HGM-25A Titan I
Missile	LGM-25 Titan II
Missile	LGM-30A/B Minuteman I
Missile	LGM-30F Minuteman II
Missile	LGM-30G Minuteman III
Missile	LGM-118A Peacekeeper
Missile	SM-62 Snark
Missile	PGM-17A Thor
Missile	PGM-19A Jupiter
Ground system	Athena computer
Ground system	AN/MPS-9
Ground system	AN/MSQ-1
Ground system	AN/MSQ-2
Ground system	AN/MSQ-35
Ground system	AN/MSQ-77	1965
Ground system	AN/MSQ-81
Ground system	AN/MSQ-96
Ground system	AN/TLQ-11
Ground system	BMEWS	1979	1982
Ground system	GWEN
Ground system	train: Big Star (ICBM)
Ground system	trains: RBS Express (3)	1961	c. 1971
Ground system	SACCCS

See also

• Permissive Action Link
• Fail-deadly