Latrar Air Station
Encyclopedia
Latrar Air Station is a closed United States Air Force
General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 153.2 miles (246.6 km) north of Naval Air Station Keflavik
, Iceland. It was closed on 28 June 2006 as part of the closure of United States military facilities in Iceland.
, (H-4). The station is located atop a mountain named Bolafjall near the village of Bolungarvik, about 21 air miles to the north-northeast of H-4.
It was operated by the 934th Air Control Squadron
and was equipped with an AN/FPS-117v5 radar.
The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the GIUK gap
which passed through the detection range of its radars and relay to the NAS Keflavik Radar Operations Control Center (ROCC).
Straumnes Air Station was inactivated on 28 June 2006 and presently remains unused.
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 153.2 miles (246.6 km) north of Naval Air Station Keflavik
Naval Air Station Keflavik
United States Naval Air Station Keflavik is a former NATO facility at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland. It is located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island...
, Iceland. It was closed on 28 June 2006 as part of the closure of United States military facilities in Iceland.
History
Latrar Air Station was established as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) radar station in 1992, replacing the original NATO AC&W radar site at Straumnes ASStraumnes Air Station
Straumnes Air Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located north of Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was closed on 30 June 1992.-History:...
, (H-4). The station is located atop a mountain named Bolafjall near the village of Bolungarvik, about 21 air miles to the north-northeast of H-4.
It was operated by the 934th Air Control Squadron
934th Air Control Squadron
The 934th Air Control Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 85th Group, Third Air Force, stationed at Latrar Air Station, Iceland...
and was equipped with an AN/FPS-117v5 radar.
The mission of the station was to intercept and shadow all Soviet aircraft in transit in and from the GIUK gap
GIUK gap
The GIUK gap is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval warfare chokepoint. Its name is an acronym for Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, the gap being the open ocean between these three landmasses...
which passed through the detection range of its radars and relay to the NAS Keflavik Radar Operations Control Center (ROCC).
Straumnes Air Station was inactivated on 28 June 2006 and presently remains unused.