Christmas Valley Air Force Station
Encyclopedia
Christmas Valley Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located about 16 miles east of the community of Christmas Valley, Oregon
. It was closed in 1997.
(OTH-B) system. The system was based on a frequency modulation/continuous wave (FM/CW) radar capable of detecting and tracking objects at over-the-horizon ranges. In concept it involved bouncing radar signals off the ionosphere
which allows radar to overcome the curvature of the earth.
A small scale test receiver/transmitter was established in central western Maine at what would become Moscow AFS
by the early 1980s. Initial testing was conducted from June 1980 to June 1981. Successful testing resulted in the decision to develop operational OTH-B systems for the east and west coasts and in Alaska.
The east coast OTH-B system was designed and built by GE Aerospace and consisted of an AN/FPS-118 radar with the transmitter located at Christmas Valley AFS and the receiver at the newly constructed Tule Lake AFS, California. The transmitter and receiver stations were staffed by personnel of the 777th Radar Squadron
. Data processing took place at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
The fall of the Soviet Union
and end of the Cold War
saw the OTH-B systems rendered obsolete for detecting intruding military aircraft, however, the OTH-B continued operations until 1997 and its data saw use by the United States Border Patrol
for tracking aircraft used by drug smugglers, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
which made use of the measurements of ocean currents and weather patterns.
The facility was placed in "warm storage" in 1997 and in 2002 it was deactivated and placed in "cold storage" with equipment removed from the site.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located about 16 miles east of the community of Christmas Valley, Oregon
Christmas Valley, Oregon
Christmas Valley is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The community was named after nearby dry Christmas Lake, east of the present townsite and the site of the former Lake post office, which ran from 1906 until 1943. Real estate development around a planned...
. It was closed in 1997.
History
Development of Christmas Valley AFS can be traced to work undertaken by USAF Rome Air Development Center (RADC) engineers in the early 1970s who were developing an over the horizon backscatter radarOver-the-horizon radar
Over-the-horizon radar, or OTH , is a design concept for radar systems to allow them to detect targets at very long ranges, typically up to thousands of kilometers...
(OTH-B) system. The system was based on a frequency modulation/continuous wave (FM/CW) radar capable of detecting and tracking objects at over-the-horizon ranges. In concept it involved bouncing radar signals off the ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
which allows radar to overcome the curvature of the earth.
A small scale test receiver/transmitter was established in central western Maine at what would become Moscow AFS
Moscow Air Force Station
Moscow Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force radar station in Somerset County, Maine. Located northeast of Moscow, Maine, it went operational in 1990 but was closed in 1997 and placed in "warm storage" with minimal maintenance...
by the early 1980s. Initial testing was conducted from June 1980 to June 1981. Successful testing resulted in the decision to develop operational OTH-B systems for the east and west coasts and in Alaska.
The east coast OTH-B system was designed and built by GE Aerospace and consisted of an AN/FPS-118 radar with the transmitter located at Christmas Valley AFS and the receiver at the newly constructed Tule Lake AFS, California. The transmitter and receiver stations were staffed by personnel of the 777th Radar Squadron
777th Radar Squadron
The 776th Radar Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Electronic Systems Division, Air Force Materiel Command, stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It was inactivated on 1 October 1997....
. Data processing took place at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
The fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
saw the OTH-B systems rendered obsolete for detecting intruding military aircraft, however, the OTH-B continued operations until 1997 and its data saw use by the United States Border Patrol
United States Border Patrol
The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...
for tracking aircraft used by drug smugglers, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
which made use of the measurements of ocean currents and weather patterns.
The facility was placed in "warm storage" in 1997 and in 2002 it was deactivated and placed in "cold storage" with equipment removed from the site.