Riverhead FAA Radar Site

 (1980-Active) - A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Long Range Radar (LRR) site first established in May 1980 near Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York. This site was originally the Ground-Air Transmitter (GAT) Site for the BOMARC Missile Annex at Suffolk County Air Force Base. The FAA site is used to identify and track military and civilian aircraft movements within a 200-mile radius and to provide air-ground radio communication with those aircraft. Assigned a SAGE System ID of Z-315, a JSS ID of J-52, and an FAA ID of QVH. Active FAA Radar Site. Also known as Suffolk FAA Radar Site.

History
This site became an FAA radar site in 1980, constructed on the former Ground-Air Transmitter (GAT) Site of the BOMARC Missile Annex at Suffolk County Air Force Base. The site was built to replace the closing Montauk Air Force Station (Z-45). The new site would furnish radar track data to the FAA ARTCCs and to USAF Direction Centers. News accounts indicate that the FAA site had a projected commissioning date in December 1980 but that Montauk would continue operations until 31 Jan 1981 and that is when the radar at Montauk shut down, 7 pm, 31 Jan 1981.

In 1982 the FPS-116 height finder was supported by USAF operating location OLAA 21st ADS with 6 USAF operations personnel. The FPS-116 height-finder required the Military Interface Modification (MIM) to connect to the digitizer functionality in the ARSR-3 radar. The modification allowed height-finder operators to process height requests and return height data to USAF direction centers. The FPS-116 was removed about 1988.

Initial equipment included ARSR-3 search radar and that set remained in operation until it was replaced by a ARSR-4 3D radar between 1996-1999. The Air Force operated an FPS-116 height finder on the site between 1980 and 1988.

Current Status
Active FAA facility near Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York.

{| See Also:
 * New York ARTCC
 * JSS System
 * FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * , page 143.


 * , page 56.

Links:
 * Radomes - Riverhead FAA Radar Site
 * Wikipedia - Joint Surveillance System