The Air Force has employed a global network of ground-based solar optical observatories known as SOON (the Solar Observing Optical Network) to monitor the Sun for flare and sunspot activity that may affect Department of Defense systems. For decades, SOON has provided the only dedicated, reliable, and operational source of solar optical imagery to the Air Force and its customers through the 557th Weather Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, NE. SOON solar products are also used by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado, as an input to real-time space weather watches, warnings, and alerts...