7th Space Warning Squadron

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7th Space Warning Squadron (7 SWS)

The 7th Space Warning Squadron is the United States’ premier space domain awareness unit on the West Coast. Based at Beale Air Force Base, California, near Marysville, it has operated since 1979 to defend the U.S. from missile threats. Its members are nicknamed the Bandits and it is part of Mission Delta 4 in the U.S. Space Force.

7 SWS focuses on Integrated Missile Warning & Defense (IMW/D) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA). In peacetime, it tracks objects in orbit to help build a space catalog used by U.S. and international agencies. In a missile event, the squadron detects launches (including submarine-launched and intercontinental missiles), quickly validates the data, counts the missiles, predicts impact, and informs senior leaders within about 60 seconds. The information also supports the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system to intercept threats.

Daily operations mainly involve tracking satellites and sharing data with the 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg to maintain the orbital catalog, which feeds the United Nations Registry Report.

Equipment and capabilities include the Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) and the PAVE PAWS radar at Beale AFB, which help detect fast-moving objects and provide fast, precise data.

History and lineage: Beale’s PAVE PAWS site was built in 1979 for Cold War defense, originally under Aerospace Defense Command, then Strategic Air Command. It became part of Air Force Space Command in 1983 as the 7th Missile Warning Squadron. In 1992, it moved under the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB and was renamed the 7th Space Warning Squadron. In 2007, it upgraded to UEWR. Today, 7 SWS operates under the United States Space Force’s Space Operations Command, Mission Delta 4.