Keno Air Force Station

Keno Air Force Station (1958-1979) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1958 near Keno, Klamath County, Oregon. Named Keno Air Force Station after the location. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of TM-180, later a Sage ID of Z-180 and a JSS ID of J-82. Deactivated by the U.S. Air Force in 1979 now operated by the FAA as Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site (LMT). Keno Air Force Station 1976, FPS-6 Height Finder (foreground) and FPS-67 Search Radar. History Established in 1958 and became operational in September 1958 as Keno Air Force Station manned by the 827th AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning mission. The early warning mission involved tracking and identifying all aircraft entering their airspace while the GCI mission involved guiding Air Force interceptors to any identified enemy aircraft. Controllers at the station vectored fighter aircraft at the correct course and speed to intercept enemy aircraft using voice commands via ground-to-air radio. Initial equipment included the FPS-20A search radar and two FPS-6A height-finder radars. SAGE System Transition The transition of the manual GCI system to the automated SAGE system began with the installation of the FST-2 coordinate data transmitter and search radar upgrades. The FST-2 equipment digitized the radar returns and transmitted the digital returns to the SAGE direction center. Under the SAGE System, interceptor aircraft were directed to their targets by the direction center computers and controllers, greatly reducing the need for local controllers and equipment at every radar station. The FST-2 was a very large digital system using vacuum tube technology. Over 6900 vacuum tubes were used in each FST-2 requiring 21 air-conditioned cabinets, 40 tons of air conditioning, 43.5 kva of prime power, and usually a large new addition to the operations building. The FST-2B modification added two more cabinets but with newer solid-state (transistor) technology to process coded responses from aircraft transponders. SAGE System Operation Former Adair AFS SAGE Direction Center DC-13 The site began operation as a SAGE site in June 1960 initially feeding the Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13. The search radar was upgraded to an FPS-67B and a FPS-90 height-finder radar replaced one of the FPS-6A radars. With the closure of the Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13, Keno AFS was reassigned on 15 Sep 1969 to the McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12. Gap Filler Radars Keno AFS was responsible for the maintenance of two remote unattended gap-filler radar sites. The unattended gap filler sites were placed in locations where the main search radar lacked coverage. These sites were equipped with short range FPS-14 or FPS-18 search radars and FST-1 Coordinate Data transmitters that sent digitized radar target data to a SAGE direction center and to the main radar site. Both the radar set and the FST-1 were dual channel to increase site up time. Maintenance teams were dispatched for regularly scheduled maintenance or when fault indicators on the FSW-1 remote monitoring equipment suggested the site had problems. The FSW-1 also allowed remote operation of specific functions such as channel changes for the radar and for the FST-1, it also allowed remote operation of the diesel generators at the gap filler site. The gap-fillers that Keno was responsible for were located in Yreka, California, and La Pine, Oregon. The La Pine site was never activated because the radar tower blew down in the winter of 1959. Keno AFS Gap Filler Radar Sites (edit list) ADC NORAD Location State Type From To GPS Notes TM-180A Z-180A Yreka CA FPS-18, FST-1 1959 1960 41.738333, -122.776667 BUIC System Keno AFS BUIC Operations Building, FPS-90 tower (L), FPS-67 tower (C), FPS-6 tower (R). Keno AFS became a BUIC I GCI site in 1962 and was operational as a BUIC II site on 1 Mar 1966. Keno was selected as a BUIC III site and in 1970 the 827th Radar Squadron (SAGE) became the 827th Air Defense Group (BUIC). The BUIC III system provided a backup for a SAGE direction center with the GSA-51A computer system and provided the ability to display sector-wide radar data on consoles for local weapons controllers. The system duplicated the functionality of the vacuum tube direction center computers with the more up-to-date GSA-51A computer system and replaced the FST-2 with a more up-to-date coordinate data transmitter, the FYQ-47. As the threat from a Soviet bomber fleet lessened, the decision came to mothball the BUIC system in 1974. Some sources say that the Keno BUIC System continued to operate until 1977 and was the last BUIC site to close on the west coast. Post BUIC Operation The site was operated as a joint-use site by the USAF/FAA starting in the early 1960s and at some point, the FAA took over the operation and maintenance of the search radar FPS-67B. The FST-2 was replaced in the early 1970s by the FYQ-47. The FYQ-47 was installed in the FPS-67B tower and maintained by the FAA. The FPS-90 was removed in 1976 and sent to the JSS site at Salem (Laurel Mtn./Dallas), Oregon. In 1979 the site came under TAC jurisdiction with only the FPS-67B search radar. Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site With the deactivation of the USAF radar site on 30 Sept 1979, the abandoned Air Force buildings were removed in the early 1990s and a much smaller compound was established for the FAA search radar and other facilities. The site became Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site still using the FPS-67B search radar. In 1982 an ADTAC listing of sites to be brought into the JSS System included Keno FAA Radar Site with an FPS-67B search radar, an FYQ-47 Common Digitizer, and an ATCBI-5 SIF/IFF (Beacon) set. In this listing, the site is shown as a "data-tied" (no height-finder or mode 4 capability) site with all the equipment owned and maintained by the FAA with no USAF personnel on this site. In 1983 the SAGE System was deactivated and the Keno FAA Radar Site joined the JSS System with a JSS ID of J-82 as one of the original members. By 1990 the site was still equipped with the FPS-67B search radar but the FYQ-47 had been replaced with a CD-2A Common Digitizer. Now listed as the Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site, the CD-2A was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three-level weather data processing in May 1992. On 12 Jul 2012, a Joint Tech Inspection was conducted at the site by Western Air Defenses Sector (WADS), Oregon Air National Guard (OANG), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel. Photos from that inspection show the FPS-67B still in place on the old Air Force tower with a solid radome. Interior photos show the old FPS-67B search radar and ATCBI-6 beacon equipment and indicate that this is a pre CARSR configuration. The photos also show legacy Rivet Switch radios being removed after being replaced with CM-300/350 and URC-200 equipment. CARSR Radar Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site CARSR Radar (2023). The nationwide replacement program converting FAA legacy radar systems to the CARSR radar configuration was completed by 17 Aug 2015 and Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site was a part of that program. Legacy FAA radars underwent a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) that replaced key components in the vintage ARSR-1, ARSR-2, FPS-20, FPS-66 and FPS-67 radars. The CARSR program replaced legacy klystron radar transmitters with a solid-state transmitter as well as renovating the radar receiver and signal processor. The CARSR modification also included common digitizer functionality making a separate common digitizer unnecessary. The Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site is now operating with the CARSR radar. At the time of the CARSR changeout, the legacy radar in place was still the FPS-67B and the secondary radar is the ATCBI-6 Beacon set. The radar site data is now available to the USAF/NORAD Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) operations centers (EADS & WADS) as well as the FAA Seattle ARTCC (ZSE) and adjacent ARTCCs. Other federal agencies have access to the data under the Homeland Security umbrella. Current Status Now operated by the FAA as Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site. Most of the main Air Force buildings have been leveled including the operations complex, the power generation buildings, the two height-finder towers, and the dining hall. Among those USAF buildings still remaining are the motor pool building, the search radar tower, and the GATR radio site building. Several smaller buildings associated with the infrastructure can still be seen. The smaller FAA compound is surrounded by a fence. Keno AFS Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems Scopes Comm IFF/SIF/Beacon FPS-20A FPS-18 GF FPS-67B FAA CARSR FAA FPS-6A FPS-90 FST-2/A/B GSA-51/A BUIC FST-1 GF FYQ-47 FAA CD-2A FAA GKA-5 GRT-22 (4) GRR-24 (4) GRC-171 (1) ATCBI-5 FAA ATCBI-6 FAA Unit Designations 827th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1957-1960) 827th Radar Squadron (SAGE) (1960-1970) 827th Air Defense Group (1960-1979) Transferred to TAC 1 Oct 1979 827th Assignments Sep 1957 - Activated at Kingsley Field, OR, assigned to 28th AD. (Hamilton Manual Direction Center P-48) Feb 1958 - Site redesignated to Keno AFS, OR. 1 Mar 1959 - Transferred to 25th AD. (McChord Manual Direction Center P-4) 1959 - Site redesignated back to Kingsley Field, OR. 1 Mar 1960 - Transferred to Portland ADS. (Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13) 15 Jul 1960 - Redesignated from AC&W Sq to 827th Radar Sq (SAGE). 1 Apr 1966 - Transferred to 26th AD. (Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13) 15 Sep 1969 - Reassigned to 25th AD. (McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12) 1 Mar 1970 - 827th Radar Squadron (SAGE) inactivated. 1 Mar 1970 - 827th Air Defense Group activated at Kingsley Field, OR, and assigned to 25th Air Division. (McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12) 1 Mar 1979 - Transferred to TAC. Keno Air Force Station Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1963~ Major Nelson, G.I. N/A 1966~ Lt. Colonel Mize, John P. N/A 1970~ Lt. Colonel Wood, Richard A. N/A Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. Location: Hamaker Mountain, Keno, Klamath County, Oregon. Maps & Images Lat: 42.06889 Long: -121.97222 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 6,596' GPS Locations: 42.06889, -121.97222 Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site 42.12288, -121.95015 Hamaker Mountain Road - Rt 66 Intersection See Also: Seattle ARTCC SAGE System BUIC System JSS System Permanent System Radar Sites Permanent Radar System Direction Centers McChord Manual Direction Center P-4 Adair SAGE Direction Center DC-13 McChord SAGE Direction Center DC-12. US Radar Sets Sources: Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, USAF Hq Air Combat Command, 1997, 192 pages, Pdf, page 150 Cornett, Lloyd H. & Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization (1946-1980), Office of History ADC, Peterson AFB, Colorado, 31 Dec 1980, 179 pages, Pdf, page 86, 171 Links: Wikipedia - Keno Air Force Station Broken Link Boondog's World - 2012 Inspection Trip Photos Fortification ID: OR0091 - Keno Air Force Station OR0093 - Klamath Falls FAA Radar Site Visited: 16 May 2023