Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:22, 29 May 2020

Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site (1954-1968) - A Cold War Air Force Radar Station first established in 1954 on Amarillo Air Force Base, Potter County, Texas. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-88, later a Sage ID of Z-88. Abandoned in 1968 and turned over to the FAA. Now known as Amarillo FAA Radar Site with an FAA ID of ZAMA.


Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site now Amarillo FAA Radar Site in 2013.
Amarillo FAA Radar Site in 2019.

History

Established and manned in the fall of 1954 as Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site manned by the 688th 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.

This site was located some 9 miles from the Amarillo Pantex Plant, a key element of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex established in 1951. Pantex has been the nation’s primary assembly, disassembly, retrofit, and life-extension center for nuclear weapons.

Initial radar site equipment included the MPS-7 search radar and a TPS-10D height-finder radar. The search radar was upgraded to an FPS-20A and an FPS-6A height-finder radar was installed. The FPS-20A search radar was upgraded to an FPS-67B in 1966.

Amarillo AFB radar site fed the Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector Manual Control Center (ADCC) designated P-86 at Oklahoma City Air Force Station, later redesignated Manual Combat Center (MCC-11) and later NORAD Sector Combat Center (Manual).

Closure

The main site with the radar towers and operations buildings were located in the northeast corner of Amarillo Air Force Base. Most of the support facilities were located on the base proper. By 1968 Amarillo Air Force Base had closed and with the support base gone the decision was made to close the radar station. On 8 Sep 1968, the 688th Squadron was deactivated and a reduced facility was turned over to the FAA.

Amarillo FAA Radar Site

The site had originally become an FAA/USAF joint-use site about 1965 and after the base closure in 1968 the FAA continued to operate the FPS-67B search radar but the FPS-6A height-finder was removed.

A FYQ-47 Common Digitizer was probably placed in service by February 1973 when the USAF/FAA FST-2 to FYQ-47 replacement program was completed. By 1990 the site was equipped with an FPS-67B search radar and a CD-2A Common Digitizer. The Amarillo CD-2 was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing in July 1992.

Mode S Beacon System

The Amarillo FAA Radar Site was selected in the 1990s to become one of 21 long-range radar sites to have a Mode S radar beacon system installed. The Mode S system allowed operation in the existing beacon modes but added features to improve beacon operation by allowing aircraft identification with a single interrogation and two-way digital communication between controllers and pilots.

Besides the 21 long-range sites, there were other short-range radars to be upgraded for a total of 137 sites on the implementation list. Amarillo was #129 on the list, scheduled to receive the Mode S equipment on 30 Jun 1995. Installation required interfacing with the radar system, addition of a beacon antenna on top of the search radar antenna, a new larger radome, interfacing with the Common Digitizer (CD-2) if installed, additional communication lines and equipment.

CARSR Radar

The nationwide replacement program converting FAA legacy radar systems to the CARSR radar configuration was completed by 17 Aug 2015 and Amarillo 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 Amarillo FAA Radar Site is now operating with the CARSR radar.

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 Albuquerque ARTCC (ZAB) and adjacent ARTCCs. Other federal agencies have access to the data under the Homeland Security umbrella.

Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site Major Equipment List
Search Radar	HF Radar	Data Systems	IFF/SIF/Beacon
MPS-7 FPS-20A FPS-67B FAA CARSR FAA	TPS-10D FPS-6 FPS-6A	FYQ-47 FAA CD-2A FAA	Mode S FAA

Unit Designations
688th Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) Squadron (1953-1968)

688th AC&W Squadron Assignments
1 Oct 1953 - Activated at Geiger Field, WA, as the 25th AD. 26 Dec 1953 - Moved to Tinker AFB, OK and transferred to the 33rd AD. Fall 1954 - Moved to Amarillo AFB, TX. 1 Jan 1960 - Transferred to Albuquerque ADS. 15 Sep 1960 - Transferred to Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Sep 1961 - Transferred to 4752nd Air Defense Wing. 25 Jun 1963 - Transferred to Oklahoma City ADS. 1 Apr 1966 - Reassigned to 31st Air Division. 8 Sep 1968 - Discontinued.

Current Status

Active FAA Radar Site in Amarillo, Potter County, Texas.

{"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"}

Location: Amarillo in Potter County, Texas.

Maps & Images

Lat: 35.24611 Long: -101.65694

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google Amarillo AFB Radar Site
Elevation: 3,573'

GPS Locations:

35.24611, -101.65694 Amarillo AFB Radar Site
35.24672, -101.65553 Amarillo FAA Radar Site

See Also:

Sources:

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 99.
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 156.
FAA - Site Listing of Legacy Radars as of 23 Dec 2016.
U.S. DoT - Recommendation on Transition from Primary/Secondary Radar to Secondary-Only Radar Capability 1994.
FAA - Three Level Weather For ARTCC Displays - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 7110.14A, 14 Feb 1990.
FAA - SSR/DMTI Modification - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 6340.20, 6 Jul 1988.
Fact Sheet - About Pantex

Links:

Bad Links Amarillo+AFB%2C+TX Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site]
Wikipedia - Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site

Visited: 3 Sep 2019, 29 Mar 2013

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{PageHeader}}
 {{SocialNetworks}}
-{{PageHeader}}
+'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1954-1968) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1954 on Amarillo Air Force Base, Potter County, Texas. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-88, later a Sage ID of Z-88. Abandoned in 1968 and turned over to the FAA. Now known as [[Amarillo FAA Radar Site]] with an FAA ID of ZAMA.
-'''{{PAGENAME}}''' (1954-1968) - A [[Cold War]] Air Force Radar Station first established in 1954 on Amarillo Air Force Base, Potter County, Texas. Initially assigned a Permanent ID of M-88, later a Sage ID of Z-88. Abandoned in 1968 and turned over to the FAA. Now known as [[Amarillo FAA Radar Site]].
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-|width="50%"|<!--[[Image:.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site Air Force Station]]-->
+|width="50%"|<!--[[Image:.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site Air Force Station]]-->
 |-
-|colspan="2"|[[File:Amarillo AFS - 3.jpg|795px|thumb|center|Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site now Amarillo FAA Radar Site]]
+|colspan="2"|[[File:Amarillo AFS - 3.jpg|795px|thumb|center|Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site now Amarillo FAA Radar Site in 2013.]]
+|-
+|colspan="2"|[[File:Amarillo FAA Radar Site 2019.jpg|795px|thumb|center|Amarillo FAA Radar Site in 2019.]]
 |}
-== History of Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site ==
+== History  ==
-Established and manned in the fall of 1954 as Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site manned by the 688th AC&W Squadron. The station initially had both a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and early warning misssion. The early warnng mission involved tracking and identifing 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.
+Established and manned in the fall of 1954 as Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site manned by the 688th 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 [[MPS-7]] search radar and a [[TPS-10D]] height finder radar. The search radar was upgraded to an [[FPS-20|FPS-20A]] and an [[FPS-6|FPS-6A]] height finder radar was installed. The FPS-20A search radar was upgraded to an [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]] in 1966.
+This site was located some 9 miles from the [[Amarillo Pantex Plant]], a key element of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex established in 1951. Pantex has been the nation’s primary assembly, disassembly, retrofit, and life-extension center for nuclear weapons.
+Initial radar site equipment included the [[MPS-7]] search radar and a [[TPS-10|TPS-10D]] height-finder radar. The search radar was upgraded to an [[FPS-20|FPS-20A]] and an [[FPS-6|FPS-6A]] height-finder radar was installed. The FPS-20A search radar was upgraded to an [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]] in 1966.
 Amarillo AFB radar site fed the Oklahoma City Air Defense Sector Manual Control Center (ADCC) designated P-86 at [[Oklahoma City Air Force Station]], later redesignated Manual Combat Center (MCC-11) and later NORAD Sector Combat Center (Manual).
-The main site with the radar towers and operations buildings was located in the northeast corner of Amarillo Air Force Base. Most of the support facilities were located on the base proper. By 1968 Amarillo Air Force Base had closed and with the support base gone the decision was made to close the radar station.
+== Closure ==
+The main site with the radar towers and operations buildings were located in the northeast corner of Amarillo Air Force Base. Most of the support facilities were located on the base proper. By 1968 Amarillo Air Force Base had closed and with the support base gone the decision was made to close the radar station. On 8 Sep 1968, the 688th Squadron was deactivated and a reduced facility was turned over to the FAA.
+== [[Amarillo FAA Radar Site]] ==
+The site had originally become an FAA/USAF joint-use site about 1965 and after the base closure in 1968 the FAA continued to operate the [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]] search radar but the FPS-6A height-finder was removed.
+{{FYQ-47Program}} By 1990 the site was equipped with an [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]] search radar and a [[CD-2|CD-2A]] Common Digitizer. The Amarillo CD-2 was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing in July 1992.
+{{ModeSSite|Site=Amarillo|Seq=129|Date=30 Jun 1995}}
+==CARSR Radar ==
+{{CARSRProgram|Site=Amarillo}}
-The site became an FAA/ADC joint-use site about 1965 and on 8 Sep 1968 the 688th Squadron was deactivated and the facility was turned over to the FAA. The FAA coninued to operated the FPS-67B search radar but the FPS-6A height finder was removed. This radar has been upgraded to the Common Air Route Surveillance Radar ([[CARSR]]).
+{{DecodeARTCCID|FAAID=ZAB}}
 {{Clr}}
+----
 {| width="800px"
 |-
-| valign="top" width="50%" |
+| valign="top" width="60%" |
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable" width="400px"
 |+ Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site Major Equipment List
 |-
@@ Line 32: / Line 46: @@
 !HF Radar
 !Data Systems
+!IFF/SIF/Beacon
 |-
 | valign="top" |
 * [[MPS-7]]
 * [[FPS-20|FPS-20A]]
-* [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]]
+* [[FPS-67|FPS-67B]] FAA
 * [[CARSR]] FAA
 | valign="top" |
@@ Line 43: / Line 58: @@
 * [[FPS-6|FPS-6A]]
 | valign="top" |
+* [[FYQ-47]] FAA
+* [[CD-2|CD-2A]] FAA
+| valign="top" |
+* [[Mode S]] FAA
 |}
-| valign="top" width="50%" |
+| valign="top" width="40%" |
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+ Unit Designations
@@ Line 77: / Line 96: @@
 {|
 |
-<googlemap version="0.9" lat="35.24611" lon="-101.65694" zoom="17" width="500" scale="yes" overview="yes" controls="large" icons="http://www.fortwiki.com/mapicons/icon{label}.png">
+<googlemap version="0.9" lat="35.24611" lon="-101.65694" zoom="17" width="-500" height="-500" scale="yes" overview="yes" controls="large" icons="http://www.fortwiki.com/mapicons/icon{label}.png">
 (R) 35.24611, -101.65694, Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site
 (1954-1968)
+(R) 35.24672, -101.65553, Amarillo FAA Radar Site
 </googlemap>
 |valign="top"|
 '''Location:''' Amarillo in Potter County, Texas.
-{{Mapit-US-cityscale|35.24611|-101.65694}}
+{{Mapit-US-cityscale|35.24611|-101.65694}} Amarillo AFB Radar Site
-* Elevation: .....'
+* Elevation: 3,573'
+|valign="top"|
+<br>
+'''GPS Locations:'''
+* {{GPSLinkLong|Lat=35.24611|Lon=-101.65694}} Amarillo AFB Radar Site
+* {{GPSLinkLong|Lat=35.24672|Lon=-101.65553}} Amarillo FAA Radar Site
 |}
 '''See Also:'''
+* [[Albuquerque ARTCC]]
+* [[Fort Worth ARTCC]]
 * [[SAGE System]]
 * [[Permanent System Radar Sites]]
@@ Line 97: / Line 124: @@
 * {{Cornett}}, page 99.  <!--ADC Organization-->
 * {{Winkler}}, page 156.  <!--Searching the skies-->
+{{FAA-CommonSitePrograms}}
+* [https://pantex.energy.gov/sites/default/files/About_Pantex.pdf Fact Sheet - About Pantex]
 '''Links:'''
-* [http://www.radomes.org/museum/showsite.php?site=Amarillo+AFB%2C+TX&squadron=&country= Radomes - Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site]
+* [[Bad Links]] Amarillo+AFB%2C+TX Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site]
 * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Air_Force_Base#Air_Defense_Command Wikipedia - Amarillo Air Force Base Radar Site]
-{{Visited|29 Mar 2013}}
+{{Visited|3 Sep 2019, 29 Mar 2013}}
 __NOTOC__
@@ Line 115: / Line 143: @@
 [[Category:Starter Page]]
 [[Category:USAF Radar Sites]]
-[[Category:SAGE Sites]]
-[[Category:JSS Sites]]
 [[Category:2013 Research Trip]]
+[[Category:2019-2020 Research Trip]]
 [[Category:TPS-10]]
 [[Category:MPS-7]]
@@ Line 123: / Line 150: @@
 [[Category:FPS-67]]
 [[Category:FPS-6]]
-[[Category:CARSR]]