Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation located in northeastern North Dakota, west of Grand Forks. Established on December 1, 1955, with construction commencing that fall, the base became operational on January 28, 1957. Initially, during the Cold War, it served as an Air Defense Command (ADC) fighter-interceptor air base, hosting units such as the 478th Fighter Group and squadrons flying F-101B Voodoos and F-106 Delta Darts. A Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-11) was also established there in 1958 for air defense, though it was later inactivated. In 1963, Grand Forks AFB transitioned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC), becoming a major installation for B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The 319th Bombardment Wing operated B-52s, and the 321st Strategic Missile Wing managed Minuteman II and later Minuteman III ICBMs. The base also briefly hosted a Sentinel/Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) site, the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, which was operational for less than a year in 1975-1976. Following the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the base was reassigned to Air Combat Command, then Air Mobility Command. The bomber mission ended in 1994, and the ICBM silos were demolished between 1999 and 2001 in accordance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II). In 2005, a Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendation led to the loss of the KC-135 tanker mission. Currently, the host unit is the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, assigned to Air Combat Command, operating E/RQ-4B Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles. Other units include the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Air Security Operations Center.