History of Kirtland AFB, NM

A Lashup (L-3; L-45) station was operational at Kirtland AFB by late 1949. The Lashup station provided coverage for the Albuquerque-Los Alamos region. The site used AN/CPS-5 and AN/CPS-4 radars. In late 1952 an AN/CPS-5 radar was still operating on a Lashup basis to provide temporary coverage. Meanwhile, plans to permanently site the radar on Mt. Vulcan (located within what is now the Petroglyph National Monument) were thwarted by an owner who refused to sell at the price offered. Instead, the Air Force selected a site twenty-two miles west of Albuquerque, on West Mesa. The new site (M-94) became operational in 1956. At this site the 687th AC&W Squadron used AN/MPS-7 search and AN/MPS-14 height-finder radars. In 1960 West Mesa AFS was also handling air-traffic-control functions for the FAA. In 1961 the site (Z-94) hosted an AN/FPS-20 search radar. By 1966 the 687th Radar Squadron was operating an AN/FPS-91A search set. The Air Force deactivated this squadron in September 1968. The FAA continues to operate the AN/FPS-91A search radar.

References: "Searching the Skies"; misc. ADCOM documents; eyewitness accounts; 1955 CONAD History document.


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