The Plains, VA JSS site & Suitland, MD FAA site

When the then-new long-range radar site opened at The Plains, VA (Z-318 / J-50) in 1980 for the Joint Surveillance System (JSS) Program, it replaced two other long-range radar sites: the U.S. Air Force`s air-defense radar site at Fort Meade, MD (Z-227) and the FAA`s air-route surveillance radar site at Suitland, MD. The Suitland site was situated a few miles west-northwest of Andrews AFB, MD, at Latitude 38° 51` 13" N, Longitude 076° 56` 21" W.

Below are aerial images, past and present, plus a topographical map showing just where this FAA ARSR-1 radar site was located in Suitland. The FAA`s building still stands today, but the radar tower itself is no longer extant. A photograph of the Suitland radar site is displayed in the Smithsonian`s Air & Space Museum.