Joint Surveillance System

The former J-31 San Pedro JSS ARSR-1 radar site, California

USAF Battle Control System operators monitor the skies from the floor of the program’s Eastern Air Defense Sector location.

The Joint Surveillance System (JSS) is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It replaced the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system in 1983.

Overview

The JSS consists of long range surveillance radars, primarily operated and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but providing communication and radar data to both FAA and United States Air Force control centers.

Air Route Surveillance Radar

FAA equipment is a primarily a mixture of Long Range Air Route Surveillance Radars (ARSR) of various types, although some use legacy AN/FPS radars. They are co-located with UHF ground-air-ground (G/A/G) transmitter/receiver (GATR) facilities at many locations. Fourteen sites have VHF radios as well. The GATR facility provides radio access to fighters and Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from the SOCCs. The JSS has been enhanced under the FAA/Air Force Radar Replacement Program with 44 ARSR-4/FPS-130 radars to replace some of the many previous long-range radars. This provides common, high-performance, unattended radars. The ARSR-4/FPS-130 is a 3-D long range radar with an effective detection range of some 250 miles and has been fully integrated with JSS at all joint use sites.

These radars are generally unattended except for periodic FAA maintenance crews which visit the sites as necessary.

Sector Operations Control Centers

The USAF Air Combat Command portion of the JSS is composed of three Continental United States (CONUS) Sector Operations Control Centers (SOCC) equipped with Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) displays. Three of the SOCCs are located in the Continental United States (CONUS) at the following locations:

• Rome, New York 43°13′00″N 075°24′21″W (Eastern Air Defense Sector)
• Tyndall AFB, Florida 30°04′30″N 085°35′39″W (Air Operations Center for AFNORTH)
• McChord Field, Washington 47°07′18″N 122°30′14″W (Western Air Defense Sector)

A SOCC is located in Alaska at Elmendorf AFB, in Hawaii at Hickam Field and two in Canada at CFB North Bay, Ontario. The mission of the SOCC network is peacetime air sovereignty and surveillance. Wartime functions are available if necessary. The SOCCs accept data from multiple sensors, automatically process this data and display data for detection, tracking and identification of air targets, and the assignment and direction of interceptor aircraft to ensure peacetime air sovereignty.

Each SOCC functions as the primary command and control center in each NORAD region during crisis or attack as long as they are capable.

CONUS SOCCs receive data from 46 radar sites. Some 14 more sites feed data to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska and two radar sites supply data for the SOCC at Hickam Field, Hawaii. A total of 24 air surveillance radar networks in Canada feed data to two SOCCs located at CFB North Bay, Ontario.

Command and control can be transitioned to the E-3AAirborne early warning and control (AEW&C) for survivability as the tactical situation warrants. In peacetime, six of these aircraft are assigned to co-operate with the JSS. ROCC information is also passed to the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Combat Operations Centre (COC) at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Radar stations

Site Number	NORAD-ID	Name	State	Radar Type	Location	USAF Sector	FAA Sector	Notes
QPC		Haleyville	AL	AN/FPS-67B	34°24′56″N 087°32′23″W	EADS	ASO Southern	Radar developed by Raytheon for SAGE system
MGM		Montgomery	AL	ARSR-1D	32°12′42″N 086°10′06″W	EADS	ASO Southern	In rural area, 13.2 miles (21.2 km) southeast of Montgomery.
QXR	Z-237	Russellville	AR	AN/FPS-64A	35°24′10″N 092°59′39″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Former ADCOM SAGE radar site, still uses the FPS-64A.
TXK		Texarkana	AR	AN/FPS-67B	33°21′35″N 093°55′22″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Replaced ADCOM SAGE Texarkana AFS M-91 site
J-29	Z-247	Humboldt Mountain	AZ		33°58′53″N 111°47′53″W		ASW Southwest	Opened 1992 at former ADCOM Mount Lemmon AFS site. Closed 2000, replaced by J-29A
J-29A		Ajo	AZ	ARSR-4	32°25′52″N 112°56′42″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Opened 2000 at former ADCOM Ajo AFS site, replaced J-29 near Phoenix
QXP		Seligman	AZ	ARSR-3	35°21′10″N 112°56′59″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	Remote site on top of mountain peak.
J-83	Z-33	Crescent City	CA		41°33′33″N 124°05′10″W		AWP Western Pacific	Former ADCOM Klamath AFS, Closed 1995, replaced by J-83A
J-83A		Rainbow Ridge	CA	ARSR-4	40°23′39″N 124°09′58″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	Replaced J-83 and J-34. Remote site on top of mountain peak.
J-34	Z-37	Point Arena	CA		38°53′35″N 123°32′40″W		AWP Western Pacific	Former ADCOM SAGE Point Arena AFS, closed 1995. Replaced by J-83A
J-33	Z-38	Mill Valley	CA	ARSR-4	37°55′26″N 122°35′51″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	Former ADCOM SAGE Mill Valley AFS, inactivated 1980. Now FAA site.
J-32	Z-236	Paso Robles	CA	ARSR-4	35°23′41″N 120°21′15″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	FAA site since 1960. Former USAF SAGE site Z-236, replacing Cambria AFS, Became JSS site in 1980
J-31	Z-39	San Pedro	CA		33°44′46″N 118°20′10″W		AWP Western Pacific	Former ADCOM San Pedro Hill AFS inactivated 1995. JSS site closed, replaced by Navy ARSR-4 site J-36A on San Clemente Island.
J-36A		San Clemente Island (USN)	CA	ARSR-4	32°53′03″N 118°27′03″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	New site established in late 1990s located on very remote location.
J-30	Z-76	Mount Laguna	CA	ARSR-4	32°52′34″N 116°24′54″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific	Replaced ADCOM Mount Laguna AFS inactivated 1991. Second ARSR-4 installation
J-35		Vandenburg AFB	CA	ARSR-4	34°35′13″N 120°35′41″W	WADS		USAF JSS site (not used by the FAA)
DNV	Z-212	Denver	CO	ARSR-1D	39°35′39″N 104°41′35″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1963 by FAA, was data tied-into the ADCOM SAGE network.
GJC	Z-215	Grand Junction	CO	ARSR-2	39°38′19″N 108°45′45″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1963 by FAA, was data tied-into the ADCOM SAGE network.
TCO	Z-222	Trinidad	CO	ARSR-2	37°32′49″N 104°00′50″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1963 by FAA, was data tied-into the ADCOM SAGE network.
J-04	Z-327	Whitehouse NOLF	FL	ARSR-4	30°20′45″N 081°52′25″W	EADS	ASO Southern	Replaced ADCOM M-114 SAGE site at NAS Jacksonville inactivated 1981.
J-05	Z-211	Patrick AFB	FL		28°12′50″N 080°35′57″W		ASO Southern	Former ADCOM SAGE site, inactivated 1988. Used until 1996 by FAA.
J-05A		Melbourne	FL	ARSR-4	28°05′03″N 080°47′53″W	WADS	ASO Southern	Replaced J-05 with new ARSR-4 installation.
J-06	Z-210	Richmond	FL	ARSR-1F	25°37′24″N 080°24′16″W		ASO Southern	Former ADCOM Richmond AFS, closed 1992, destroyed by Hurricane Andrew
J-06A		Tamiami	FL	ARSR-4	25°38′50″N 080°30′19″W	EADS	ASO Southern	Replaced destroyed J-06 by FAA at new location with ARSR-4 radar.
J-07	Z-209	NAS Key West	FL	ARSR-4	24°35′04″N 081°41′21″W	EADS	ASO Southern	ADCOM SAGE site closed 1979, now joint-use Navy/FAA radar
J-09	Z-330	Fort Lonesome	FL		27°38′44″N 082°07′58″W		ASO Southern	Opened in 1980 replacing ADCOM SAGE site M-129 at MacDill AFB. Closed 1998
J-09A		Fort Green	FL	ARSR-4	27°42′02″N 082°00′25″W	EADS	ASO Southern	In agricultural area 32.9 miles (52.9 km) east-southeast of Tampa.
J-10	Z-333	Cross City	FL	ARSR-4	29°44′38″N 083°00′03″W	EADS	ASO Southern	New site opened in 1980 replaced ADCOM SAGE Cross City AFS TM-200.
J-11	Z-198	Tyndall AFB	FL	ARSR-4	30°04′33″N 085°36′39″W	EADS	ASO Southern	Opened in 1983, replaced ADCOM TM-198 site on the base.
QHN		Ashburn	GA	ARSR-1E	31°41′45″N 083°45′01″W	EADS	ASO Southern	In rural location, 25.2 miles (40.6 km) east-northeast of Albany, GA
QNK		Lincolnton	GA	ARSR-3	33°45′35″N 082°28′01″W	EADS	ASO Southern	Replaced ADCOM SAGE site at Aiken AFS, South Carolina (SM-159)
QJO		Arlington	IA	ARSR-3	42°46′06″N 091°36′55″W	WADS	ACE Central	In rural location, 41.7 miles (67.1 km) east-northeast of Waterloo, IA
QVA		Ashton	ID	ARSR-2	44°33′45″N 111°26′41″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened 1963. On mountain peak 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south-southewest of Yellowstone National Park Airport, ID
BOI	Z-223	Boise	ID	ARSR-2	44°26′33″N 116°08′13″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1963 by FAA. Located atop Snowbank Mountain. Vegan feeding information into the ADCOM SAGE network in 1963.
JOL		Elwood	IL	ARSR-3	41°25′22″N 088°03′30″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes	In rural location, 7.2 miles (11.6 km) south of Joilet, IL
IND		Indianapolis	IN	ARSR-1E	39°44′46″N 086°17′05″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes	In urban area, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north of Indianapolis International Airport; 7102 Howard St, Indianapolis, IN 46241
QTZ		La Grange	IN	ARSR-1E	41°37′52″N 085°24′53″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes	Located in suburbs, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of La Grange, IN.
GCK	Z-226	Garden City	KS	ARSR-2	37°39′51″N 100°52′18″W	WADS	ACE Central	FAA site since 1964 in highly agricultural area, , was data tied-into the ADCOM SAGE network. 21.3 miles (34.3 km) south of Garden City, KS.
QBZ		Oskaloosa	KS	ARSR-2	39°13′19″N 095°14′46″W	WADS	ACE Central	In rural area, 17.3 miles (27.8 km) north of Larwence, KS.
J-14	Z-248	Lake Charles AFS	LA		30°11′05″N 093°10′30″W		ASW Southwest	Former ADCOM SAGE site at former Lake Charles AFB. Closed in the 1990s and moved to J-14A
J-14A		Lake Charles	LA	ARSR-4	30°21′38″N 093°30′41″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	New site located in rural area 23.5 miles (37.8 km) east-northeast of former site.
J-13	Z-246	Slidell	LA	ARSR-4	30°20′53″N 089°46′46″W	EADS	ASW Southwest	Former SAGE site, on north side of Lake Pontchartrain, 32.5 miles (52.3 km) north-northeast of New Orleans
QHA		Cummington	MA	AN/FPS-66B	42°28′29″N 072°58′05″W	EADS	ANE New England	Located atop Bryant Mountain. Using SAGE radar.
J-53	Z-10	North Truo	MA	ARSR-4	42°02′03″N 070°03′15″W	EADS	ANE New England	On former USAF North Truro AFS closed in 1994.
J-54	Z-110	Bucks Harbor	ME	ARSR-4	44°37′46″N 067°23′43″W	EADS	ANE New England	On former USAF Bucks Harbor AFS closed in 1979
J-63		Caribou	ME	ARSR-4	46°53′09″N 067°58′17″W	EADS	ANE New England	Former Nike IFC L-58C of Loring AFB Defense Area
CPV		Coopersville	MI	ARSR-1D	43°02′44″N 085°59′32″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
J-58	Z-34	Empire	MI	ARSR-4	44°48′07″N 086°03′05″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
J-62	Z-397	Canton	MI	ARSR-4	42°16′36″N 083°28′27″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
QJE		Minneapolis	MN	ARSR-1E	44°45′09″N 093°13′40″W	WADS	AGL Great Lakes
J-60	Z-306	Nashwauk	MN	ARSR-4	47°23′51″N 093°10′13″W	WADS	AGL Great Lakes
QJC		Tyler	MN	ARSR-2	44°11′37″N 096°12′15″W	WADS	AGL Great Lakes
STL		St. Louis	MO	ARSR-1E	38°42′03″N 090°23′26″W	WADS	ACE Central	In urban area, address is 2310 Ashby Rd St Louis, MO 63114
QMH		Newport	MS	ARSR-3	32°56′51″N 089°50′41″W	EADS	ASO Southern
J-77	Z-147	Malmstrom AFB	MT		47°30′05″N 111°12′11″W		ANM Northwest Mountain	Closed 1996
J-77A		Bootlegger Ridge	MT	ARSR-4	47°36′49″N 111°17′25″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
J-78	Z-179	Lakeside (Kalispell)	MT	ARSR-4	48°00′41″N 114°21′54″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
QRL		Benson	NC	ARSR-1E	35°30′40″N 078°32′56″W	EADS	ASO Southern
QRM		Charlotte	NC	ARSR-1	35°36′39″N 081°14′18″W	EADS	ASO Southern
J-02	Z-115	Fort Fisher	NC	ARSR-4	33°58′38″N 077°54′56″W	EADS	ASO Southern
J-75	Z-303	Finley	ND	ARSR-4	47°31′42″N 097°54′03″W	WADS	AGL Great Lakes
J-76	Z-300	Watford City	ND	ARSR-4	47°40′44″N 103°46′50″W	WADS	AGL Great Lakes
NPL	Z-217	North Platte	NE	ARSR-2	40°49′58″N 100°44′53″W	WADS	ACE Central	FAA site since 1963
J-51	Z-63	Gibbsboro AFS	NJ	ARSR-4	39°49′29″N 074°57′15″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
GAL	Z-221	Gallup	NM	ARSR-2	36°04′33″N 108°51′37″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Opened 1963 by FAA
QWC	Z-234	Mesa Rica	NM	ARSR-1E	35°14′15″N 104°12′16″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-28	Z-245	Silver City	NM		32°59′21″N 108°57′38″W		ASW Southwest	Closed 1990s
J-28A		Deming	NM	ARSR-4	32°29′30″N 107°09′59″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
BTM	Z-214	Battle Mountain	NV	ARSR-2	40°24′11″N 116°52′04″W	WADS	AWP Western Pacific
J-52	Z-315	Riverhead	NY	ARSR-4	40°52′43″N 072°41′14″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-55	Z-312	Remsen	NY	ARSR-4	43°20′43″N 075°14′56″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-56	Z-309	Dansville	NY	ARSR-1E	42°38′18″N 077°39′10″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
CLE		Cleveland	OH	ARSR-1E	41°18′08″N 081°41′01″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
QWO		London	OH	ARSR-1E	39°50′46″N 083°28′54″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
OEX		Oklahoma City	OK	ARSR-4	35°24′11″N 097°37′42″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	FAA ARSR-4 Training Site
QVN		Fossil	OR	ARSR-3	44°57′37″N 119°57′06″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
J-81	Z-345	Salem	OR	ARSR-4	44°55′22″N 123°34′25″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
QCF		Clearfield	PA	ARSR-3	41°04′13″N 078°33′01″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-61		Trevose	PA	ARSR-1	40°08′03″N 074°59′13″W		AEA Eastern	Closed 1990s
J-03	Z-324	Jedburg	SC	ARSR-4	33°04′11″N 080°13′14″W	EADS	ASO Southern
QOJ	Z-235	Joelton	TN	ARSR-1E	36°20′10″N 086°51′41″W	EADS	ASO Southern
QYB	Z-233	Memphis	TN	ARSR-1	34°51′10″N 089°45′57″W	EADS	ASO Southern
QYS		Rogers	TX	ARSR-1E	30°56′38″N 097°16′07″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-27	Z-244	El Paso	TX		31°40′51″N 106°11′50″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Closed 1997
J-27A		Eagle Peak	TX	ARSR-4	30°55′13″N 105°05′09″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-15	Z-240	Ellington AFB	TX		29°36′56″N 095°10′23″W	WADS	ASW Southwest	Closed 1997
FTW	Z-231	Keller	TX	ARSR-1D	32°56′40″N 097°13′13″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-15A		Morales	TX	ARSR-4	29°20′29″N 096°52′18″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-26	Z-242	Odessa	TX		32°33′15″N 102°25′40″W		ASW Southwest	Closed 1995
J-26A		King Mountain	TX	ARSR-4	31°17′06″N 102°16′24″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-16	Z-242	Oilton	TX	ARSR-4	27°29′56″N 098°58′10″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
J-25	Z-339	Sonora	TX	ARSR-3	30°28′16″N 100°33′29″W		ASW Southwest	Closed 1995
J-25A		Rocksprings	TX	ARSR-4	30°02′48″N 100°16′04″W	WADS	ASW Southwest
CDR	Z-216	Cedar City	UT	ARSR-2	37°35′35″N 112°51′49″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1962 by FAA
SLC	Z-213	Francis Peak	UT	ARSR-1E	41°01′58″N 111°50′18″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1962 by FAA. Also called "Salt Lake City"
QHZ		Horicon	WI	ARSR-2	43°26′45″N 088°29′32″W	EADS	AGL Great Lakes
QBN		Binns Hall	VA	ARSR-3	37°22′58″N 076°59′55″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-01	Z-321	NAS Oceana	VA	ARSR-4	36°49′38″N 076°00′49″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-50	Z-318	The Plains	VA	ARSR-3	38°52′57″N 077°42′10″W	EADS	AEA Eastern
J-79	Z-151	Mica Peak	WA	ARSR-4	47°34′26″N 117°04′52″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
J-80	Z-44	Makah AFS	WA	ARSR-4	48°22′18″N 124°40′30″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain
QSI	Z-224	Lowell	WY	ARSR-2	44°49′01″N 107°54′08″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	WADS
LSK	Z-219	Lusk	WY	ARSR-2	42°35′38″N 104°35′18″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1963 by FAA
RKS	Z-218	Rock Springs	WY	ARSR-2	41°26′05″N 109°07′03″W	WADS	ANM Northwest Mountain	Opened in 1962 by FAA

References

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

• Joint Surveillance System @ radomes.org