# BAR-MAIN

Compiled by [Robin Monks](https://coldwar.tech/about), a Cold War archival expert.

*Easternmost DEW Line Main station in Alaska and birthplace of the DEW Line. Site of the 1953 MIT Lincoln Laboratory proof-of-concept tests; converted to a North Warning System Long Range Radar site in November 1990.*

## Metadata

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Coordinates | 70°08'02"N, 143°34'55"W |
| Status | converted |
| Operational Period | 1957–1993 (continues today as NWS LRR Site A-21) |

BAR-MAIN is the birthplace of the DEW Line. In February 1953, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Western Electric personnel conducted proof-of-concept radar and communications tests here that demonstrated the feasibility of an Arctic early warning chain. The key breakthroughs — an automatic signal alarm that freed operators from constant scope-watching, and reliable tropospheric scatter radio links for over-the-horizon data transmission — directly led to the joint U.S.–Canadian authorization of full DEW Line construction in February 1954.

The station sits on approximately 4,500 acres of low-lying tundra at about 50 feet above sea level, 312 miles east of Point Barrow. It was the easternmost DEW Line site in Alaska, serving as BAR Sector headquarters and controlling nine subordinate stations — four auxiliary and five intermediate — spanning Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.

## BAR Sector stations

During the DEW era, BAR-MAIN controlled the following stations:

- **BAR-1** (Auxiliary) — Komakuk Beach, Yukon → NWS SRR, October 1990
- **BAR-2** (Auxiliary) — Shingle Point, Yukon → NWS LRR, June 1989
- **BAR-3** (Auxiliary) — Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories → NWS SRR, September 1990
- **BAR-4** (Auxiliary) — Nicholson Peninsula, Northwest Territories → NWS SRR, October 1990
- **BAR-A** (Intermediate) — Demarcation Bay, Alaska — closed 1963
- **BAR-B** (Intermediate) — Stokes Point, Yukon — closed 1963; re-established as NWS SRR, July 1991
- **BAR-C** (Intermediate) — Tununuk Camp, Northwest Territories — closed 1963
- **BAR-D** (Intermediate) — Atkinson Point, Northwest Territories — closed 1963
- **BAR-E** (Intermediate) — Horton River, Northwest Territories — closed 1963; re-established as NWS SRR, June 1991

## Site layout

The airstrip runs along a narrow spit subject to erosion: 4,820 ft × 100 ft gravel (designated 07/25) at just 2 feet above sea level. The station featured the standard AN/FPS-19 L-band search radar housed in a geodesic radome, tropospheric scatter antennas for long-haul communications, and module-based construction typical of DEW Line sites. During the NWS transition, a prototype AN/FPS-124 Short Range Radar was constructed at the site.

## Radar and communications

During the DEW era, BAR-MAIN used the AN/FPS-19 L-band search radar, operating in the 1220–1350 MHz band. Long-haul communications relied on tropospheric scatter antennas linking to adjacent stations across the Arctic — the same technology proven here in 1953. With the North Warning System transition, the site received an AN/FPS-117 solid-state 3-D radar, which remains operational today.

## Operations

BAR-MAIN operated as one of six Main stations on the primary DEW Line, providing sector command and communications hub functions alongside POW-MAIN, PIN-MAIN, CAM-MAIN, FOX-MAIN, and DYE-MAIN. The successful proof-of-concept tests here in early 1953 led to construction of an 18-site test string across northeastern Alaska and northwestern Canada beginning in July 1953. The five intermediate gap-filler sites in the BAR Sector were closed in 1963 when the AN/FPS-23 Doppler detection concept was scaled back across the entire line.

## Transition and current status

BAR-MAIN transitioned to the North Warning System in November 1990 with the installation of an AN/FPS-117 solid-state 3-D radar. The DEW Line was formally inactivated and the NWS officially activated on 15 July 1993. "Operation Clean Sweep," an environmental remediation effort initiated by PACAF in 1998, addressed legacy contamination at the site; cleanup was completed by 2005.

## Airport

Barter Island LRRS Airport (IATA: BTI, ICAO: PABA) remains operational with a 4,820 × 100 ft gravel runway (designated 07/25) at 2 feet above sea level. The airport is owned by North Slope Borough and also serves the nearby community of Kaktovik. In the 12-month period ending December 2005, the airport recorded approximately 5,077 passenger boardings and 3,350 aircraft operations.

## Resources

- [BAR-Main — DEW Line Adventures](https://lswilson.dewlineadventures.com/barm/)
- [Barter Island LRRS Airport — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barter_Island_LRRS_Airport)
- [A Line in the Ice — Air & Space Forces Magazine](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0204line/)

## Resources

- [BAR-Main — DEW Line Adventures](https://lswilson.dewlineadventures.com/barm/) (Larry Wilson)
- [Barter Island LRRS Airport — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barter_Island_LRRS_Airport)
- [A Line in the Ice — Air & Space Forces Magazine](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0204line/) (Peter Grier, 2004)
- [Distant Early Warning Line — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distant_Early_Warning_Line)
- [DEW Line Automatic Signal Detection — MIT Lincoln Laboratory Journal](https://archive.ll.mit.edu/publications/journal/pdf/vol12_no2/12_2distantearly.pdf) (MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 2000)
- [Barter Island Superfund Site — U.S. EPA](https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/CurSites/ccontact.cfm?id=1000137) (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
- [Searching the Skies — Federation of American Scientists](https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/searching_the_skies.htm) (Federation of American Scientists)
- [DEW Line Stations — Secrets of Cold War Radar](https://secretsofcoldwarradar.omeka.net/exhibits/show/canada-s-radar-chains/the-dew-line/stations)

## Related

- [The DEW Line](https://coldwar.tech/systems/dew-line) (Systems)
- [POW-MAIN](https://coldwar.tech/places/pow-main) (Places)
- [DYE-MAIN](https://coldwar.tech/places/dye-main) (Places)
- [PIN-MAIN](https://coldwar.tech/places/pin-main) (Places)
- [CAM-MAIN](https://coldwar.tech/places/cam-main) (Places)
- [FOX-MAIN](https://coldwar.tech/places/fox-main) (Places)

Tags: Radar, Defense, DEW Line

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Canonical URL: https://coldwar.tech/places/bar-main
Last updated: 2026-05-22