Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar Site (1979-Present) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Pave Paws System Missile Warning Radar Site. Established in 1979 on Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, Yuba County, California. Active radar site on Beale Air Force Base.
Pave Paws Missile Warning Operations Center (MWOC).
Established in 1979 and became operational in 1980 as the Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar Site manned by the 7th Missile Warning Squadron. Initial equipment included two FPS-115 phased array radar systems.
Physical Plant
Pave Paws Technical & Power Building.Pave Paws Power Control Room, Generators in background.
The two original PAVE PAWS FPS-115 radars were housed in a 105 foot high building with three sides, two of which were active. Each of the two active sides contained 1,800 individual radar transmitters and receivers. The active sides were tilted back 20 degrees to allow for an elevation deflection from 3 to 85 degrees above the horizon. A computer controlled the activation of individual radar elements providing a moving radar beam.
Beale AFB Pave Paws Radar Site AFS Major Equipment List
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 46, 47, 149.
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 54-56, 86, 105.
