Editing K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base (section)

====Air Defense Command====
[[File:Air Defense Command.svg|left|100px]]
[[File:62d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - Emblem.png|left|100px]]
[[File:87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - Patch.png|left|100px]]
[[File:62d FIS F-101 KI Sawyer 1960s.jpg|thumb|[[McDonnell F-101 Voodoo|F-101]] of the 62d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on Alert during the 1960s]]
[[File:87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron-TAC-F-106-59-0094.jpg|thumb|[[Convair F-106 Delta Dart|F-106A]] (59-0094) of the 87th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in flight in the early 1980s. Note the [[Tactical Air Command]] emblem on the tail, replacing the squadron emblem.]]
Upon activation, K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer was placed under the Jurisdiction of [[Aerospace Defense Command|Air Defense Command]] (ADC) on 8 April 1956. The [[473d Fighter Group]] was activated as the host unit, under the ADC [[4706th Air Defense Wing]] at [[O'Hare International Airport]], Illinois.

The initial mission of the base was to act as a fighter-[[Interceptor aircraft|interceptor]] defense against an enemy [[Strategic bomber|bomber]] attack, the [[484th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]] was activated on 8 June 1956, and authorized [[Northrop F-89 Scorpion|F-89D Scorpion]] interceptors, however the 484th FIS was never equipped or manned as much construction was necessary to bring the airport up to USAF standards for a military airfield. In 1957, civilian commercial operations from the base moved to a new Marquette County Airport erected at the site of the old Negaunee Airport. The first aircraft assigned to K. I. Sawyer were [[Convair F-102 Delta Dagger|F-102 Delta Dagger]]s from the [[438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]] at [[Kincheloe Air Force Base|Kincheloe AFB]], which were temporarily stationed at K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer during the summer of 1958.

On 8 November 1958 the [[Sault Sainte Marie Air Defense Sector]] (SsmADS) was established at K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer AFB. The ADC command and control organization's mission was to operate the [[Semi-Automatic Ground Environment]] (SAGE) Data Center (DC-14), which opened in 1959. The SAGE system was a network linking USAF (and later [[FAA]]) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for air defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a [[Soviet]] nuclear attack. SsmADS also supported the [[Antigo Air Force Station|Antigo AFS]] (P-19) and [[Calumet Air Force Station|Calumet AFS]] (P-16) ADC [[Ground-Controlled Interception]] (GCI) and warning stations

Further expansion of the base occurred in 1959 when the runway was extended to its final length at {{convert|12,366|ft|mi km|2}}. Prior to the expansion, ADC replaced the 473d Fighter Group with the [[56th Fighter Wing]], along with its [[62d Fighter Squadron|62d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron]], to Sawyer as the host unit. The 56th FW received its first aircraft, a [[McDonnell F-101 Voodoo]], in 1959, after the expanded runway was completed. The F-101s provided the SAGE unit with the required intercept and destroy capabilities that gave the base teeth.

In 1961 the 56th Fighter Wing was discontinued and the host unit at Sawyer became the Sault Sainte Marie ADS. In a reorganization in 1964, SAC assumed jurisdiction of the base and ADC phased down its presence to a tenant organization. The 62d FIS came under the command and control of the [[Duluth Air Defense Sector]] and the SsmADS was inactivated. Responsibilities for the SAGE system were switched to the Duluth ADS, (DC-10) or the [[Detroit Air Defense Sector]] (DC-06).

In 1969, Air Defense Command was redesignated as Aerospace Defense Command. In 1971, the 62d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and its F-101B was replaced with a new squadron and aircraft. The new squadron was the [[87th Flying Training Squadron|87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron]] (87 FIS), the "Red Bulls," which flew the [[Convair F-106 Delta Dart|F-106A Delta Dart]]. The 87th maintained four [[Lockheed T-33]] aircraft to provide target support for the squadron interceptors, simulating Soviet bomber tactics. In addition, they flew [[NORAD]] radar evaluation and logistic support sorties.

ADC was disestablished in 1979 and all ADC aircraft assets were transferred to [[Tactical Air Command]] (TAC) under a sub-organization known as Air Defense – Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). The 87 FIS and their F-106 aircraft remained based and maintaining a 24/7/365 alert status at Sawyer AFB. The 87th was scheduled to convert to the [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle|F-15 Eagle]] in 1984. However, due to budget cuts the conversion was cancelled and the squadron was scheduled for inactivation on 1 October 1985 as the continental air defense mission in the United States was increasingly transferred to the [[Air National Guard]]. When inactivated, the 87th FIS was the second-to-last F-106 squadron on active duty.

On 4 September 1985, the last three F-106 Delta Darts from the 87th FIS departed K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer for [[309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group|AMARC]] at [[Davis–Monthan Air Force Base|Davis-Monthan AFB]] at [[Tucson, Arizona]]. Most of its aircraft were later converted to QF-106 target drones and expended as aerial targets over the [[Gulf of Mexico]] as part of the "Pacer Six Program" during the late 1990s at [[Tyndall Air Force Base|Tyndall AFB]] in western [[Florida]] by the [[82d Aerial Targets Squadron]].