308th Armament Systems Group
A United States Air Force armament systems organization responsible for developing and equipping long-range precision-attack capabilities.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The 308th Armament Systems Group is a United States Air Force organization based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It is a component of the 308th Armament Systems Wing and operates within the Air Force Materiel Command acquisition and systems-development structure. Its stated mission is to equip warfighters with long-range, precision-attack capabilities. Unlike a commercial brand, the group is a military program and systems organization rather than a consumer-facing company: it does not sell products under a retail identity, publish commercial financial results, or operate as a separately listed enterprise. The present organization emerged from the Air Force Materiel Command transformation of the mid-2000s. In that reorganization, traditional center directorates were replaced by wings and groups, and the Long Range Missile Systems Group was established at Eglin in January 2005. The Long Range Missile Systems Group was formally constituted in November 2004 and activated on 27 January 2005. On 3 May 2006 it was consolidated with the historic 308th Bombardment Group, a lineage dating to the Second World War, and was redesignated the 308th Armament Systems Group on 15 May 2006. The group's historical lineage is unusually broad. Its predecessor, the 308th Bombardment Group, was constituted on 28 January 1942 and activated on 15 April of that year. Equipped primarily with Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers, it deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater in 1943 and became part of the Fourteenth Air Force's heavy-bombardment effort. From bases in China and India, its aircraft conducted long-range attacks against Japanese airfields, ports, docks, industrial facilities, fuel installations, shipping, and other logistical targets. The group also used C-87 Liberator transports and supported its operations by moving fuel, bombs, spare parts, and other supplies across the Himalayan route known as The Hump. The wartime group received two Distinguished Unit Citations. One recognized a heavily defended attack on docks and warehouses at Hankow on 21 August 1943; the other recognized its interdiction of Japanese shipping during 1944 and 1945. Major Horace S. Carswell Jr., a member of the group, received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during an attack on a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea on 26 October 1944. After Japan's capitulation, the group supported United States forces in the theater before returning personnel to the United States and inactivating on 6 January 1946. The lineage then continued through weather reconnaissance and Strategic Air Command assignments. Redesignated the 308th Reconnaissance Group, Weather, in September 1946, it served with the Air Weather Service from October 1946 until January 1951, supervising the training and operation of weather-reconnaissance units. It was reactivated as the 308th Bombardment Group, Medium, at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, on 10 October 1951, but did not become an independently operational combat group. The unit was inactivated on 16 June 1952 as Strategic Air Command implemented an organizational model in which combat and maintenance squadrons reported directly to the wing. The modern armament-systems group therefore combines a contemporary long-range weapons mission with the honors and lineage of a World War II combat organization.
History
The 308th Armament Systems Group traces its institutional lineage to the 308th Bombardment Group, constituted on 28 January 1942 and activated at Gowen Field, Idaho, on 15 April 1942. Assigned initially to II Bomber Command, the group trained for heavy-bomber operations and received orders for deployment to the China-Burma-India Theater in February 1943. It reached the theater in March, with its air echelon traveling through the South Atlantic route and its ground echelon moving by ship through the Pacific and Australia. Operating with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, and using C-87 Liberator transports for logistics, the group supported the Fourteenth Air Force from bases in China and India. It moved fuel, bombs, spare parts, and other supplies over The Hump between the Assam Valley and China, while its bombers conducted long-range missions against Japanese military and logistical targets. These included airfields, coal yards, docks, refineries, fuel dumps, shipping, and port facilities in China, French Indochina, Burma, Formosa Strait, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Gulf of Tonkin. It received Distinguished Unit Citations for the Hankow attack of 21 August 1943 and for shipping interdiction operations during 1944–1945. Major Horace S. Carswell Jr. was awarded the Medal of Honor for an October 1944 convoy attack in which he remained with a severely damaged aircraft while attempting to save a crew member. After Japan's surrender, the group continued supporting United States forces in the theater. Personnel returned to the United States in December 1945, while the group's B-24 aircraft were left for transfer to Indian forces. The organization was inactivated on 6 January 1946. The lineage was revived later in 1946 when the group was redesignated the 308th Reconnaissance Group, Weather, and activated on 17 October. Under the Air Weather Service, it supervised the training and operations of weather-reconnaissance units until its inactivation on 5 January 1951. It was then redesignated the 308th Bombardment Group, Medium, and activated at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, on 10 October 1951 under the 308th Bombardment Wing. The group was not independently operational; its squadrons were attached to the wing. It was inactivated on 16 June 1952 as Strategic Air Command adopted a structure that placed combat and maintenance squadrons directly under the wing. The modern chapter began with Air Force Materiel Command's transformation of its acquisition organizations. The Long Range Missile Systems Group was established at Eglin Air Force Base in January 2005, having been constituted on 23 November 2004 and activated on 27 January 2005. On 3 May 2006 it was consolidated with the 308th Bombardment Group, preserving the older unit's lineage and honors. The consolidated organization was redesignated the 308th Armament Systems Group on 15 May 2006. It remains assigned to the Air-to-Ground Munitions Systems Wing, later the 308th Armament Systems Wing, with responsibility centered on long-range precision-attack capabilities.
- 2006
Consolidation and current designation
[1]The missile-systems group was consolidated with the 308th Bombardment Group on 3 May and redesignated the 308th Armament Systems Group on 15 May.
- 2005
Long Range Missile Systems Group activated
[1]The new Long Range Missile Systems Group was activated at Eglin Air Force Base during Air Force Materiel Command's organizational transformation.
- 1951
Strategic Air Command reactivation
[1]The group was redesignated as a medium-bomber unit and activated at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas.
- 1946
Weather-reconnaissance reactivation
[1]The unit was redesignated the 308th Reconnaissance Group, Weather, and activated under the Air Weather Service.
- 1943
Deployment to the China-Burma-India Theater
[1]The group deployed to the theater and began long-range B-24 operations in support of the Fourteenth Air Force.
- 1943
First Distinguished Unit Citation
[1]The group was recognized for a heavily defended attack on docks and warehouses at Hankow on 21 August.
- 1942
308th Bombardment Group constituted and activated
[1]The 308th Bombardment Group was constituted on 28 January and activated on 15 April at Gowen Field, Idaho.
Products and positioning
A United States Air Force acquisition and systems-development organization focused on long-range, precision attack rather than a commercial product brand.
Military weapon systems · 2005
Long-range missile systems
The group's modern mission concerns long-range missile and precision-attack capabilities developed, acquired, integrated, or supported for United States Air Force warfighters. The available reference material does not identify specific missile models or commercial product names.
Historical aircraft operations · 1942
Consolidated B-24 Liberator operations
During the Second World War, the predecessor 308th Bombardment Group operated Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers for long-range bombing and maritime interdiction in the China-Burma-India Theater. C-87 Liberator transports supported the group's logistics.
Historical aviation operations · 1946
Weather reconnaissance
From 1946 to 1951, the 308th lineage served the Air Weather Service as a weather-reconnaissance organization. Its documented aircraft included Boeing WB-29 Superfortresses.
Brand decisions
2006
Consolidation with the 308th Bombardment GroupStrategyBackground
Air Force Materiel Command's transformation created new wing-and-group structures while the Air Force sought to preserve the lineage of historic combat organizations.
Action taken
The Long Range Missile Systems Group was consolidated with the 308th Bombardment Group on 3 May 2006 and renamed the 308th Armament Systems Group on 15 May.
Aftermath
The current group combined a modern long-range missile mission with the historical lineage and honors of the World War II 308th Bombardment Group.
Sources1 sources
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