AFI13-550 — Air Force Nuclear Command, Control, And Communications (nc3)

AFI13-550 governs Air Force Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) operations across Air Force forces.

Search AFI13-550

  • Publication number: AFI13-550
  • Title: AIR FORCE NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS (NC3)
  • Date: 2019-04-16

View AFI13-550 on armypubs.army.mil


The instruction addresses NC3 command relationships, governance, resourcing, architecture and configuration management, resilience, and assessments. It establishes direction, guidance, and responsibilities for executing NC3 operations and identifies waiver authorities for tiered requirements.

Applies to: This instruction applies to all Regular Air Force, Reserve, Air National Guard, civilian, contractors, and other personnel or organizations, as required by binding agreement or obligation with the Department of the Air Force.

Topics covered

  • Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications operations
  • NC3 governance structure
  • NC3 resourcing needs
  • NC3 architecture and configuration management
  • NC3 resilience
  • NC3 assessments

Questions and answers

What does AFI13-550 require for NC3 resourcing?

The AF will holistically assess and evaluate NC3 resourcing needs across all affected service core functions.

What does AFI13-550 require for NC3 architecture?

The AF will develop and maintain an AF NC3 architecture and implement a configuration management process.

How does AFI13-550 address NC3 resilience?

The AF will establish a resource-informed process to manage resilience against threats to include, but not limited to, EMP and cyberspace threats IAW governing DoD and CJCS directives and Military Standard documents.

How are waiver authorities identified in AFI13-550?

The authorities to waive wing/unit level requirements in this publication are identified with a Tier (“T-0, T-1, T-2, T-3”) number following the compliance statement.

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