Reference & AI

AFI 13-550

Air Force

AIR FORCE NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS (NC3)

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia, active-duty U.S. Air Force

AFI 13-550, "AIR FORCE NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS (NC3)", is a Department of the Air Force publication, dated April 16, 2019.

Published

April 16, 2019

OPR

AF/A10

Headquarters, Department of the Air Force

Official document

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AFI 13-550 — index record

NumberAFI 13-550
TitleAIR FORCE NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS (NC3)
PublishedApril 16, 2019
Certified currentApril 16, 2019
Office of primary responsibilityAF/A10
Issued byHeadquarters, Department of the Air Force
Status on the indexCurrent
Last index actionCorrection, April 26, 2019
Source indexAir Force e-Publishing
Index last readOctober 20, 2026

Copied from Air Force e-Publishing (index). The publication itself is the authority; this page does not summarize or interpret it. Verify the current edition on the index before acting.

From the publication itself

Text below is lifted mechanically from the official PDF (26 pages, read October 20, 2026) with no editing or interpretation. Quote the document, not this page.

Purpose, in the publication’s words

This instruction establishes roles and responsibilities to ensure effective stewardship and integrated planning, programming, budgeting and execution, and sustainment of the AF NC3 mission area. In addition, it provides a framework to ensure the Air Force properly organizes, trains, and equips to enable Nuclear Command and Control (NC2) mission essential functions.

Summary of changes, as printed

This is a complete revision to the previous version of this instruction. This instruction implements Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF) and Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) direction to develop a comprehensive and more centralized structure to manage the AF NC3 mission area. It revises the command relationships, roles and responsibilities, the governance structure, and addresses resourcing, architecture and configuration management, resilience, and assessments. The instruction acknowledges consolidation of the communications systems and components of Air Force NC3 systems into the Air Force NC3 Weapon System (AF NC3 WS), nomenclated and referred throughout this instruction as AN/USQ-225, under Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) as the lead command, in accordance with Headquarters Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Program Action Directive (PAD) D16-01 Centralized Management of the Nuclear Enterprise. Finally, this instruction codifies the specialized responsibilities of the Air Force NC3 Center (AFNC3C) as an AFGSC organization with AF-wide responsibilities to lead centralized organize, train, and equip functions of the AN/USQ-225; the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, NC3 Integration Directorate (AFNWC/NC) as the principle integrator of the AN/USQ-225; and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) as the lead for synchronizing NC3 materiel management across AFMC in support of AFGSC.

Contents

  1. Chapter 1— GENERAL INFORMATIONp. 4
  2. Chapter 2— GENERAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESp. 7
  3. Chapter 3— GOVERNANCEp. 11
  4. Chapter 4— RESOURCINGp. 13
  5. Chapter 5— ARCHITECTURE AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENTp. 17
  6. Chapter 6— RESILIENCEp. 19
  7. Chapter 7— ASSESSMENTSp. 22
  8. Attachment 1— GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 24
All 27 contents entries
  1. Chapter 1— GENERAL INFORMATIONp. 4
  2. 1.1. Purposep. 4
  3. 1.2. Overviewp. 4
  4. 1.3. Scopep. 4
  5. 1.4. Objectivesp. 4
  6. 1.5. Key Terms and Definitionsp. 4
  7. 1.6. Classification and Security Informationp. 6
  8. Chapter 2— GENERAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESp. 7
  9. 2.1. Overviewp. 7
  10. 2.2. Responsibilitiesp. 7
  11. Chapter 3— GOVERNANCEp. 11
  12. 3.1. Overviewp. 11
  13. 3.2. Air Force Governance Structurep. 11
  14. 3.3. Responsibilitiesp. 11
  15. Chapter 4— RESOURCINGp. 13
  16. 4.1. Overviewp. 13
  17. 4.3. Responsibilitiesp. 13
  18. Chapter 5— ARCHITECTURE AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENTp. 17
  19. 5.1. Overviewp. 17
  20. 5.3. Responsibilitiesp. 17
  21. Chapter 6— RESILIENCEp. 19
  22. 6.1. Overviewp. 19
  23. 6.3. Responsibilitiesp. 19
  24. Chapter 7— ASSESSMENTSp. 22
  25. 7.1. Overviewp. 22
  26. 7.3. Responsibilitiesp. 22
  27. Attachment 1— GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 24

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Air Force index

REF: AFI 13-550, effective April 16, 2019

Air Force e-Publishing — AFI 13-550

This is an index record, not the publication. The official PDF is the authority; verify the current edition before acting.

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia · Military Toolkit editorial

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