Editing LGM-30 Minuteman (section)

==Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS)==
The [[Airborne Launch Control System]] (ALCS) is an integral part of the Minuteman ICBM command and control system and provides a survivable launch capability for the Minuteman ICBM force if ground-based launch control centers (LCCs) are destroyed.

When the Minuteman ICBM was first placed on alert, the Soviet Union did not have the number of weapons, accuracy, nor significant nuclear yield to completely destroy the Minuteman ICBM force during an attack. However, starting in the mid-1960s, the Soviets began to gain parity with the US and potentially had the capability to target and successfully attack the Minuteman force with an increased number of ICBMs that had greater yields and accuracy than were previously available.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|13}}

Studying the problem, SAC realized that in order to prevent the US from launching all 1,000 Minuteman ICBMs, the Soviets did not have to target all 1,000 Minuteman missile silos. The Soviets needed to launch only a disarming decapitation strike against the 100 Minuteman LCCs – the [[Missile launch control center|command and control sites]] – in order to prevent the launch of all Minuteman ICBMs. Even though the Minuteman ICBMs would have been left unscathed in their missile silos following an LCC decapitation strike, the Minuteman missiles could not be launched without a command and control capability.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|13}}

In other words, the Soviets needed only 100 warheads to eliminate command and control of the Minuteman ICBMs. Even if the Soviets chose to expend two to three warheads per LCC for assured damage expectancy, the Soviets would have had to expend only up to 300 warheads to disable the Minuteman ICBM force – far less than the total number of Minuteman silos. The Soviets could have then used the remaining warheads to strike other targets they chose.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|13}}

[[File:ALCS 1.png|thumb|An Airborne Missileer operating Common ALCS on board an EC-135A ALCC]]

Faced with only a few Minuteman LCC targets, the Soviets could have concluded that the odds of being successful in a Minuteman LCC decapitation strike were higher with less risk than it would have been having to face the almost insurmountable task of successfully attacking and destroying 1000 Minuteman silos and 100 Minuteman LCCs to ensure Minuteman was disabled. This theory motivated SAC to design a survivable means to launch Minuteman, even if all the ground-based command and control sites were destroyed.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|13}}

After thorough testing and modification of [[Boeing EC-135|EC-135]] command post aircraft, the ALCS demonstrated its capability on 17 April 1967 by launching an ERCS configured Minuteman II out of Vandenberg AFB, CA. Afterward, ALCS achieved Initial Operational Capability on 31 May 1967. From that point on, airborne missileers stood alert with [[Airborne Launch Control Center|ALCS-capable EC-135 aircraft]] for several decades. All Minuteman ICBM Launch Facilities were modified and built to have the capability to receive commands from ALCS. With ALCS standing alert around-the-clock, the Soviets could no longer successfully launch a Minuteman LCC decapitation strike. Even if the Soviets attempted to do so, EC-135s equipped with the ALCS could fly overhead and launch the remaining Minuteman ICBMs in retaliation.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|14}}

With the ALCS on alert, the Soviet war planning was complicated by forcing them to target not only the 100 LCCs, but also the 1,000 silos with more than one warhead in order to guarantee destruction. This would have required upwards of 3,000 warheads to complete such an attack. The odds of being successful in such an attack on the Minuteman ICBM force would have been extremely low.<ref name="2017_Kuehn" />{{rp|14}}

The ALCS is operated by airborne missileers from the [[Air Force Global Strike Command]]'s (AFGSC) [[625th Strategic Operations Squadron]] (STOS) and [[United States Strategic Command]] (USSTRATCOM). The weapon system is also located on board the United States Navy's [[E-6B Mercury]]. The ALCS crews are integrated into the battle staff of the USSTRATCOM "[[Operation Looking Glass|Looking Glass]]" Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) and are on alert around-the-clock.<ref name="2017_ABNCP" /> Although the Minuteman ICBM force has been reduced since the end of the Cold War, the ALCS continues to act as a force multiplier by ensuring that some enemy cannot launch a successful Minuteman LCC decapitation strike.