Information for Kalispell AFS, MT

Latitude: 48-00-41 N, Longitude: 114-21-46 W

Perm ID	Sage ID	JSS ID	Unit	Location	Early Equip.	Final Equip.	Oper. Date	Inact. Date	Notes
TM-179	Z-179	J-78	716	Kalispell AFS, MT	FPS-7B; FPS-90 (2)	FPS-7B; FPS-90. ARSR-3, FPS-116 (JSS).	1961	JSS ARSR-4 site now	Sq deactivated Apr 1978; site now known as Lakeside, MT (JSS site).
P-11B / TM-179C /SM-	Z-179C / Z-151F			Eureka, MT	FPS-14		May-58	Jun-60	Gap-Filler Annex. Located on Black Butte. After site closure, the radar tower hosted a fire lookout cab. The fire lookout is now on a different tower.
SM-151E / TM-179B				Yaak, MT					Gap-Filler Annex. Former LRR site, Yaak AFS, P-11 (a.k.a. Bonner's Ferry). The Operations building was planned to house the gap-filler radar equipment, with a new radar tower erected just outside.
TM-179A				Columbia Falls, MT **	(FPS-14 planned)				** Gap-Filler Annex. In original ADC plans, but never was built. The planned radar site was to have been 25 miles north of Columbia Falls atop Cyclone Peak.

Perm ID

Sage ID

JSS ID

Unit

Location

Early
Equip.

Final
Equip.

Oper.
Date

Inact.
Date

Notes

TM-179

Z-179

J-78

716

Kalispell AFS, MT

FPS-7B; FPS-90 (2)

FPS-7B; FPS-90. ARSR-3, FPS-116 (JSS).

1961

JSS ARSR-4 site now

Sq deactivated Apr 1978; site now known as Lakeside, MT (JSS site).

P-11B / TM-179C /SM-

Z-179C / Z-151F

Eureka, MT

FPS-14

May-58

Jun-60

Gap-Filler Annex. Located on Black Butte. After site closure, the radar tower hosted a fire lookout cab. The fire lookout is now on a different tower.

SM-151E / TM-179B

Yaak, MT

Gap-Filler Annex. Former LRR site, Yaak AFS, P-11 (a.k.a. Bonner's Ferry). The Operations building was planned to house the gap-filler radar equipment, with a new radar tower erected just outside.

TM-179A

Columbia Falls, MT **

(FPS-14 planned)

** Gap-Filler Annex. In original ADC plans, but never was built. The planned radar site was to have been 25 miles north of Columbia Falls atop Cyclone Peak.

History of Kalispell AFS, MT

The 716th AC&W Squadron started operations with an AN/FPS-7B search radar and a pair of AN/FPS-90 height-finder radars in 1961, and soon tied into the SAGE system. [An AN/FPS-26 FD height-finder radar was to have replaced one of the height-finder radars, but was never installed.] One AN/FPS-90 was decommissioned in 1969. The 716th Radar Squadron (SAGE) was deactivated in April 1978. However, the radar station itself, renamed Lakeside, continued operating as a JSS site under FAA control. Circa 1977 the AN/FPS-90 was modified to an AN/FPS-116. In the early 1980s the AN/FPS-7B was replaced by an ARSR-3 search radar. The AN/FPS-116 was removed circa 1988. In the late 1990s, an ARSR-4 replaced the ARSR-3. The site remains in use as a JSS site.

References: "Searching the Skies"; misc. ADCOM documents; eyewitness accounts.

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