The
678th Air Defense Group replaced the 678th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (formerly the 678th Aircraft Warning & Control Squadron) at
Tyndall Air Force Base in 1970. The group operated a
Back-Up Interceptor Control (BUIC) site with the mission to back up the centralized and vulnerable
Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) operations center of the
20th Air Division at
Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama. The BUIC III operated by the group gave the unit a semi-automatic control capability, unlike earlier BUIC systems that required manual operation. The group provided air defense mission command and control from 1970 to 1983. It was a component of
Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) (later transferred to
Tactical Air Command (TAC)) Air Defense Weapons Center from 1974 to 1981. The group earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for exceptionally meritorious service for the period 1 June 1970 through 1 June 1972. In 1969, the inadequacy of the radar coverage to the south of the United States had been dramatically illustrated whan a Cuban
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 went undetected before it landed at
Homestead Air Force Base, south of
Miami, Florida. and two years later, an
Antonov An-24 similarly arrived unannounced at
New Orleans International Airport. The previous year the group also assumed responsibility to operate the Tyndall
NORAD Control Center. The group continued to act as a control center until it was inactivated in 1983 when the Tyndall radar site became part of the
Joint Surveillance System. ==Lineage==