Type Air Force Station Year built 1959 Controlled by United States Air Force | In use 1960-1988 Garrison 644th Radar Squadron | |
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Similar Oakdale Air Force Station, Gibbsboro Air Force Station, Kalispell Air Force Station, Kirksville Air Force Station, Finley Air Force Station | ||
Richmond Air Force Station (ADC ID: Z-210) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4.7 miles (7.6 km) northwest of Cutler Ridge, Florida. It was closed in 1978. It was later operated by the Federal Aviation Administration as site "J-06" as part of the Joint Surveillance System until being destroyed by Hurricane Andrew on 24 August 1992.
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The site was rebuilt by the FAA at Tamiami, Florida 25°38′50″N 080°30′19″W about 1995 designated by NORAD as Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-06A, operating an ARSR-4.
History
Richmond Air Force Station was established initially by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1959 when it placed an ARSR-1A Radar on the site and it began to feed data into the Air Defense Command SAGE network Data Center DC-09 Gunter AFB, Alabama via though Homestead AFB. On 26 April 1960 the Air Force activated the 644th Radar Squadron on the site.
The United States Army established Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) HM-01DC at Richmond AFS in 1961 for Nike missile command-and-control functions to support the Homestead-Miami Defense Area. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. In 1965 it was upgraded to the AN/FSG-l Missile-Master Radar Direction Center.
The Air Force placed two AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars at the site by 1963. In 1965 the search radar was upgraded to an ARSR-1F.
In addition to the main facility, Richmond operated three AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites:
Nike missile operations shut down in 1974. One height-finder radar was later removed, and the remaining set was modified to an AN/FPS-116 c. 1977; it was removed c. 1988 with the inactivation of the 644th Radar Squadron.
The FAA continued to operate the site as part of the JSS until 1992 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed the facility. Today it remains derelict.
Air Force units and assignments
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