Ajo Air Force Station

Ajo Air Force Station Luke-Williams Range
Part of Air Defense Command (ADC)
Coordinates	32°25′52″N 112°56′42″W
Type	Air Force Station
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Site history
Built	1958
In use	1958-1969
Garrison information
Garrison	612th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron

Ajo AFS

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Location of Ajo AFS, Arizona

Emblem of the 612th Radar Squadron

Ajo Air Force Station (ADC ID: TM-181, NORAD ID: Z-181) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 6.4 miles (10.3 km) northwest of Ajo, Arizona. It was closed in 1969.

History

Ajo Air Force Station came into existence as part of Phase III of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. On October 20, 1953 ADC requested a third phase of twenty-five radar sites be constructed.

Ajo was one of the most expensive ADC radar stations to be constructed, with costs mounting to approximately $7.4 million for 100 structures located within housing, cantonment, operations, ground-air transmitter-receiver (GATR) areas. This site became active in January 1958 with the 612th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron being assigned to the new station by the 34th Air Division.

Initially, 612th AC&W Squadron operated AN/FPS-20A and AN/FPS-6 radars. In 1961 Ajo AFS/Luke-Williams Range became a SAGE site with the squadron being re-designated the 612th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 October. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-181.

By 1963 an AN/FPS-7C had assumed search duties, and height-finder radar chores were being performed by AN/FPS-6A and AN/FPS-26 radars.

In addition to the main facility, Ajo operated an AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler site:

• Covered Wells, AZ (TM-181B): 32°10′53″N 112°20′05″W

The 612th Radar Squadron was inactivated on December 31, 1969. Housing units were moved to Gila Bend, and the remaining buildings were abandoned. A minimal Air Force and FAA presence was kept to operate some instrumentation and radio-signal relay equipment. The radar site has since re-opened as a Joint Surveillance System (JSS) FAA facility (J-29A) operating an ARSR-4 radar and a communications site for the Barry M. Goldwater USAF Range (formerly known as Luke-Williams Range). The former AFS also hosts an Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) antenna on top of old AN/FPS-26 radar tower.

After the sites inactivation, the buildings and other structures of the former Ajo AFS sat abandoned and deteriorated for decades. Today, all buildings and structures of the original Air Force Station, except for the AN/FPS-26 height-finder radar tower, are now gone. The National Parks Service demolished the site in 1994, and restored it to its natural state. Even the concrete pads for the buildings have been removed.

Air Force units and assignments

Units:

• 612th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Assigned on 1 January 1958

Activated by 34th AD, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico on 8 March 1957

Re-designated 612th Radar Squadron (SAGE), 15 October 1961

Inactivated on 31 December 1969

Assignments:

• 34th Air Division, 1 January 1958
• Los Angeles Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1960
• Phoenix Air Defense Sector, May 1961
• 27th Air Division, 1 April 1966-31 December 1969

See also

• List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
• Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
• Information for Ajo AFS, Luke-Williams Range, AZ