Laredo Air Force Station
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Laredo Air Force Station (1956-1974) - A Cold War U.S. Air Force Radar Station. Located near Laredo, Webb County, Texas. Assigned a Sage ID of Z-230. Closed in 1974. HistoryEstablished and became operational in 1956 as Laredo Air Force Station. Initial equipment included a FPS-17, later a FPS-78 was added, and finally the last Avco FSS-7 SLBM Detection Radar (not a converted FPS-116). Laredo AFS tracked White Sands Missile Range tests, provided satellite tracks and sent missile warning data to Cheyenne Mountain's computers. Air Training Command (ATC) SiteOn 22 Jul 1955, the site was acquired and ATC constructed a radar operations building for a high-power long-range radar facility. The nearby Laredo Air Force Base was an ATC training base. Funding came from a special Air Force appropriation and Rome Air Development Center (RADC) was responsible for installation and operation of the site, which became operational in 1956. The site was supported by the nearby Laredo Air Force Base. By 1958, an FPS-17 was at the station. In 1960 the site tracked artificial satellites. Air Defense Command (ADC) SiteADC took over the site in July 1961 and by the end of 1961, the station was built out like a traditional ADC radar station with a separate cantonment area. Cantonment buildings included barracks, dining hall and an orderly room. The separate operations area included the operations building and the radar set. There some evidence that the only building that was ever used in the cantonment area was the orderly room. None of the barracks were used over the years possibly because of the water supply or because the site was operated by contractors. By 30 Aug 1961 the site was known as the Laredo Sensor Site, manned by Det. 1, 1st Aerospace Surveillance & Control Squadron and commanded by Major Lloyd C. Hill. The FPS-78 was in place at the Laredo Site on that date, and the site was later used to track the first U.S. earth orbital space shot with John Glenn and later during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The site was operated by 26 General Electric employees. The Laredo sensor site was deactivated on 15 July 1964 but reactivated on 1 Apr 1966. Detachment 8 of the 14th Missile Warning Squadron was established in the late 1960s at Laredo AFS using the FSS-7 radar with a mission of detecting SLBM launches/Space Surveillance and Satellite Tracking. That mission was later taken over by a PAVE PAWS at Eldorado Air Force Station in 1987. ClosureLaredo AFS and the 14 AF/14 MWS Det. 8 were deactivated in 1974. On 22 May 1974, the abandoned station transferred to the Army and was then used for weekend training by local Army Reserve components until it was deactivated in 1980.
15 Nov 1970 - Laredo Missile Tracking Station Maj Marvin R. Owens 1970~ 1st Aerospace Surveillance & Control Squadron
1st Aerospace Control Squadron
4783rd Surveillance Squadron
Det 8, 14th Missile Warning Squadron
Current StatusAccess to the site is blocked by a locked gate across the road at 27.59404, -99.42930 some miles from the actual site.
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