Baker Air Force Station
Baker Air Force Station
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| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
 Baker AFS
Location of Baker AFS, Oregon
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| Coordinates | 44°35′11″N 117°47′14″W / 44.58639°N 117.78722°WCoordinates: 44°35′11″N 117°47′14″W / 44.58639°N 117.78722°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Code | ADC ID: SM-149, NORAD ID: Z-149 |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Air Force
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| Site history | |
| Built | 1959, 58 years ago |
| Built by | George A. Moore and Assoc., Inc. Portland, Oregon |
| In use | 1959–1968 |
| Battles/wars | Cold War |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 821st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron |
Baker Air Force Station was general surveillance radar station in the western United States, in the high desert of eastern Oregon. Located on Beaver Mountain south of Baker City, it was operated for less than a decade be the U.S. Air Force and closed 49 years ago in 1968.
Baker AFS was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23, 1952. Radars in this network were designated "SM."
Located 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south of Baker City, the station became operational 58 years ago in 1959 when the 821st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to Baker AFS in July. The squadron began operating an AN/FPS-35 search radar and an AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. Baker AFS had the only AN/FPS-35 enclosed by a radome, constructed in 1963. The summit of Beaver Mountain exceeds 6,300 feet (1,920 m) above sea level, nearly 3,000 feet (910 m) higher than Baker City.
During 1960, Baker AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-16 at Stead AFB, near Reno, Nevada. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 821st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 15 October 1960. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-149.
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