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. Operational from 1956 to 1964 and 1966 to 1974. Also known as Laredo Tracking Site, Laredo Test Site and Laredo Sensor Site.

History
Initially established on a U.S. Government leased 318.62 acre site (later purchased on 23 Oct 1958) and became operational in 1956 as Laredo Tracking Site. The site was transferred from the initial Air Training Command (ATC) owner to Air Defense Command (ADC) ownership in July 1961. ADC built out the site much as a normal ADC radar site with some 13 buildings and utilities.

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) was added in 1966. Laredo AFS tracked White Sands Missile Range tests, provided satellite tracks, and sent missile warning data to Cheyenne Mountain's computers. The site was in use 1956 to 1964, primarily as a satellite tracking station and again in 1966 to 1974 as a missile launch detection system.

Laredo AFS was deactivated in 1974, and the site transferred to the U.S. Army that same year. The site was then used for weekend training by local U.S. Army Reserve components until it was deactivated in 1980.

Air Training Command (ATC) Site
On 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 the 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) Site
ADC took over the site in July 1961, and by the end of 1961, the station was built out, much like a traditional ADC radar station with a separate cantonment area. Cantonment buildings included barracks, a 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 in the early years.

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 in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The site was operated by some 26 General Electric employees.

Cuban Missile Crisis
The attempt by the USSR to deploy missiles to Cuba in October 1962 caused the Moorestown and Laredo radars to be withdrawn from Space Track (SPADATS) service and realigned to provide missile surveillance coverage over Cuba. The FPS-78 at Laredo began missile detection operations on 26 Oct 1962. The crisis was soon over and the missiles were withdrawn from Cuba but the event highlighted the need for a missile launch detection system and the inadequacies of the existing radars. The Laredo sensor site was deactivated on 15 Jul 1964.

SLBM Systems
Laredo Air Force Station was reactivated on 1 Apr 1966, manned by Detachment 8 of the 14th Missile Warning Squadron using the newly installed 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 phased array FPS-115 radar at Eldorado Air Force Station in 1987.

Closure
Laredo 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.

1st Aerospace Surveillance & Control Squadron
 * 14 Feb 61 - Activated at Ent AFB, CO, assigned to ADC
 * Mar 1961 - Laredo Station transferred From ARDC to Det 1
 * 1 Oct 61 - Sq transferred to 9th Aerospace Defense Div

1st Aerospace Control Squadron
 * 1 Jul 62 - Redesignated from 1st Aerospace Surveillance & Control Sq to 1st Aerospace Control Sq.
 * 15 July 1964 - Laredo site deactivated

4783rd Surveillance Squadron
 * 1 Jul 1967 - Organized at Laredo MTK, TX, assigned to the 31st AD
 * 15 Nov 1969 - Reassigned to the 27th AD.
 * 19 Nov 1969 - Reassigned to the 26th AD.
 * 8 Jul 1972 - Reassigned to 14th Aerospace Force and moved to Laredo AFB, TX.
 * 8 Jul 1972 - Inactivated.

Det 8, 14th Missile Warning Squadron
 * 8 July 1972 - Activated
 * 30 Jun 1975 - Discontinued

Current Status
Access to the site is blocked by a locked gate across the road at 27.59404, -99.42930 some miles from the actual site.

See Also:
 * SLBM Detection Systems
 * SAGE System
 * Permanent System Radar Sites
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * , page 148-149, 151.
 * , page 95, 200.
 * , page 60-64.
 * , page 70-90.
 * Laredo Sensor Site to Track Satellites, The Laredo Times (Laredo, Texas), 30 Aug 1961, page 1, (Newspapers.com by Subscription)
 * Garces, Ramon, Laredo Gets Set For Space Shot: Tracking Station To Be First To Follow Flight, The Laredo Times (Laredo, Texas), 26 Jan 1962, page 1 (Newspapers.com by Subscription)
 * In The Armed Forces: Medal Recipient, The Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Indiana), 15 Nov 1970, page 26 (Newspapers.com by Subscription)
 * Site Survey & Findings of Fact for DERP-FUDS Site No. K06TX021600, Web County, Texas.
 * Site Survey & Findings of Fact for DERP-FUDS Site No. K06TX021600, Web County, Texas.

Links:
 * Radomes - Laredo Air Force Station
 * Wikipedia - Laredo Air Force Station