USAF's BACN aligned under 319th RW

The US Air Force announced recently that the 319th Reconnaissance Wing at Grand Forks AFB (ND) will now provide command and control support for the E-11 Battlefield Airborne Control Node (BACN) aircraft mission.

Pending the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with provisions for the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) intended partly retirement, the E-11 mission is expected to stand up at Robins AFB (GA) in 2022.

The USAF already possesses three E-11s, and will continue to take delivery until the full fleet inventory is achieved. On 5 June 2021, Scramble Magazine wrote about the procurement of more Bombardier Global 6000 derivatives.

Nine E-11A (with a possible new E-11B designation) BACN aircraft and a squadron of approximately 290 active-duty personnel will be flying the missions from Robins. Although no squadron has been named yet, it is almost certain that it will be the 430th Electronic Combat Squadron. The E-11A and the 430th ECS, as an expeditionary unit, have spend most of their time in Afghanistan the last decade.

Photo by USAF