Mica Peak AFS
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mica Peak Air Force Station (ADC ID: SM-151, NORAD ID: Z-141) is a closed
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located atop
Mica Peak Mica Peak is the name of two separate mountain summits in the United States located approximately apart; one in Spokane County, Washington and the other in Kootenai County, Idaho. The two peaks are located along the same ridge, which separates ...
, east-northeast of
Mica, Washington Mica is an unincorporated community in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Mica is located along State Route 27 southeast of downtown Spokane. Mica had a post office with ZIP code 99023. History A post office called Mica was establish ...
. It was closed in 1975 by the Air Force, and turned over to the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
(FAA). Today the site is part of the
Joint Surveillance System The Joint Surveillance System (JSS) is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It replaced the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system in 1983. Overvie ...
(JSS), designated by
NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...
as
Western Air Defense Sector The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) is a unit of the Washington Air National Guard located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, Washington. As a state militia unit, the Western Air Defense Sector is not in the normal United States Air Force ch ...
(WADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-79.


History

Mica Peak Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on 23 October 1952. Radars in this network were designated "SM." The station was logistically supported by the 9th Air Division at
Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport in Spokane, Washington, United States, located approximately west-southwest of Downtown Spokane. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and ...
,
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. The station became operational on 1 July 1956 when the 823d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to the new station on 1 July 1956. The squadron started operating
AN/FPS-20 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, a ...
search and AN/MPS-14 radars, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. In 1959 Mica Peak AFS received an
AN/FPS-6 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United S ...
A height-finder radar, and began performing air-traffic-control duties for the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
(FAA). During 1960 Mica Peak AFS joined the
Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...
(SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-15 at
Larson AFB Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became ...
, Washington. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 823d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 July 1960. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 to the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In June 1963, the SAGE feed was switched to DC-12 at
McChord AFB McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...
. In 1962 the search radar was upgraded and redesignated as an
AN/FPS-67 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, a ...
. A year later, an
AN/FPS-90 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United S ...
height-finder radar was added. The AN/MPS-14 was later retired. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-141. In addition to the main facility, Mica Peak operated several
AN/FPS-14 The AN/FPS-14 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating ...
Gap Filler sites: * Porthill, ID (SM-151C) * Moyie Springs, ID (SM-151D) *
Yaak AFS Yaak Air Force Station was an Air Defense Command United States general surveillance radar stations, general surveillance radar station in Lincoln County, Montana. Built as one of twenty-eight stations in the second segment of the Permanent Sy ...
, MT (SM-151E) Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. In 1967 the search radar was upgraded to an
AN/FPS-67 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, a ...
B. Routine operations were performed until 1975 when the 823rd Radar Squadron (SAGE) was inactivated on 1 July. Although the squadron was inactivated and most of the facility was closed, Mica Peak remained in operation manned by various operating locations / detachments of the 25th Air Defense Squadron at
McChord AFB McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...
. Circa 1977 the AN/FPS-90 was converted to an
AN/FPS-116 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United S ...
. The 25th ADS shut down operations on 1 October 1979. The FAA assumed control of the station on 1 October 1979, however the Air Force maintained the height-finder radar until 1988 when that radar was retired. Through the mid-1990s, the FAA continued to operate the AN/FPS-67B set at this site. That radar was then replaced by an
ARSR-4 The Air Route Surveillance Radar is a long-range radar system. It is used by the United States Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration to control airspace within and around the borders of the United States. The ARSR-4 is the FAA's mos ...
in the late 1990s. Mica Peak remains an active
Joint Surveillance System The Joint Surveillance System (JSS) is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It replaced the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system in 1983. Overvie ...
(JSS) site today.


Air Force units and assignments


Units

* Constituted as the 823d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron on 30 December 1954 : Activated at
Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport in Spokane, Washington, United States, located approximately west-southwest of Downtown Spokane. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and ...
, Washington on 8 April 1955 : Moved to Mica Peak AFS on 1 July 1956 : Redesignated as 823d Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 September 1960 : Inactivated on 1 June 1975


Assignments

* 9th Air Division, 1 July 1956 *
25th Air Division The 25th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force intermediate echelon command and control organization. It was last assigned to First Air Force, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). It was inactivated on 30 September 1990 at McChord Air ...
, 15 August 1958 *
4700th Air Defense Wing The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...
, 1 September 1958 *
Spokane Air Defense Sector The Spokane Air Defense Sector (SPADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command 25th Air Division (25th AD) at Larson Air Force Base in Grant County, Washington History SAGE ...
, 15 March 1960 *
Seattle Air Defense Sector The Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) is a unit of the Washington Air National Guard located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, Washington. As a state militia unit, the Western Air Defense Sector is not in the normal United States Air Force com ...
, 1 June 1963 * 25th Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 1 June 1975


See also

*
List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations United States general surveillance radar stations include Army and USAF stations of various US air defense networks (in reverse chronological order): *Joint Surveillance System (JSS), with radar stations controlled by joint FAA/USAF ROCCs beginnin ...


References

* Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W.,
A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980
', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980). * Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L.,
Searching the Skies
', The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
Information for Mica Peak AFS, WA
{{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Installations of the United States Air Force in Washington (state) Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites Aerospace Defense Command military installations 1956 establishments in Washington (state) 1979 disestablishments in Washington (state) Military installations established in 1956 Military installations closed in 1979