| San Pedro Hill Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| Part of 1961-1968:  Air Defense Command1968-1979:  Aerospace Defense Command | |
| San Pedro Hill,Rancho Palos Verdes, California (highest elevation of thePalos Verdes Hills)[2] | |
 San Pedro Hill AFS in 1988. | |
| Site information | |
| Type | USAF General Surveillance Radar Station |
| Code | RP-39: 1950 ADC permanent network[1] Z-39: 1963 July 31NORAD network J-31: 1983Joint Surveillance System |
| Controlled by | 1960-79: USAF670th Radar Squadron 1979-97:Federal Aviation Administration |
| Condition | Radar site ofLos AngelesARTCC |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 33°44′46″N118°20′10″W / 33.74611°N 118.33611°W /33.74611; -118.33611 (San Pedro Hill AFS)[2] 1.2 miles (1.9 km) southeast ofRolling Hills[2] |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1960-1979 |
Ground Equipment Facility J-31 (San Pedro Hill Air Force Station during theCold War) is aJoint Surveillance System radar site of theWestern Air Defense Sector (WADS) and theFederal Aviation Administration'sair traffic control radar network[1] for theLos Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center. The facility'sAir Route Surveillance RadarModel 1E with an ATCBI-6beacon interrogator system are operated by the FAA[3] and provide sector data toNorth American Aerospace Defense Command. The site providedSemi-Automatic Ground Environment data to the 1959-66Norton AFB Direction Center for the USAFLos Angeles Air Defense Sector. The site also providedProject Nike data to the 1960-74Fort MacArthur Direction Center ~3 mi (4.8 km) away for the smaller US ArmyLos Angeles Defense Area[4]—as well as gap-filler[specify] radar coverage for the 1963-74Integrated Fire Control area of Malibu Nike battery LA-78 onSan Vicente Mountain.[5]
The "ADC/FAA joint-use facility" began operations in 1961 with an FAAARSR-1C radar.[1] After the April 1, 1961, move of the670th Radar Squadron (SAGE)--formerly the 670thAC&W Squadron—fromSan Clemente Island Air Force Station, theLos Angeles Air Defense Sector was activated June 1.[6] The squadron was assigned to the "Fort MacArthur AI"[6] (Army Installation) and operated the San Pedro Hill radars which included aGeneral Electric AN/FPS-6B Radar and anAvco AN/FPS-26 Radar for height finding. In 1964, the station'sWestinghouse AN/FPS-27 Radar was installed (removed 1969) and the AN/FPS-6B was modified to an AN/FPS-90.[citation needed] In April 1976 the squadron was redesignated Detachment 1 ofLuke AFB's26th Air Defense Squadron[6] (the AN/FPS-26A was removed in this time frame).[citation needed]
The radar station with 18 military & 5 civilians was planned for transfer after the 1978Base Realignment and Closure Commission.[7] After the station transferred to the FAA whenAerospace Defense Command was inactivated, the Air Force continued to operate the AN/FPS-90 height-finder by then modified to anAN/FPS-116 (removed c. 1988).[8] In the late 1990s, the Air Force terminated the data-tie at San Pedro Hill and established a data-tie with the new Navy-installedARSR-4 radar atSan Clemente Island'sMount Thirst. TheRaytheon ARSR-1E Radar at San Pedro Hill was in use by November 2010.[3]
| External images | |
|---|---|
 1970s w/ 2 radomes & empty pedestal | |
| San Pedro AN/FPS-116 | |
| 2005 FAA image w/ 2 radomes |
Coordinates: 33°44'46"N 118°20'10"W
an Air Route Surveillance Radar Type 1E…by Raytheon…in continuous service by the FAA since its installation in 1959. [sic] I…visit[ed] with one of the FAA engineers that has taken care of its operation for more than 30 years… This is a primary radar facility for high-altitude (en-route) air traffic control, with a range of 200 miles. Coupled…is the beacon interrogator system (ATCBI-6)… The San Pedro Hill facility is one of 22 in the FAA system using ARSR-1E
The Army'smissile master control center at Fort MacArthur uses the data for its Nike missile defense network.
669th Radar Sq (SAGE): assigned 1 Jan 51 at Ft. MacArthur, CA,…moved toSanta Rosa Island, CA 11 Feb 52;…moved toLompoc AFS, CA 1 Apr 64 …670th Radar Sq (SAGE):…redesignated to 670th Radar Sq (SAGE) (from AC&W Sq) 1 Apr 61; moved to Ft. MacArthur AI, CA in Apr 61
Mt. Laguna -- Air Force station transferred to FAA affecting 133 military and 30 civilian.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
