# PAVE PAWS (AN/FPS-115) Compiled by [Robin Monks](https://coldwar.tech/about), a Cold War archival expert. *An early warning radar to detect and characterize a sea-launched ballistic missile attack against the United States.* ## Metadata | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | Designation | AN/FPS-115 | | Operational Period | 1980 - present (Robins and Eldorado sites 1986-1995; derivative active in Taiwan since 2013) | | Status | active | | Nations | united-states | | Purpose | Early warning of sea-launched ballistic missile attack | The AN/FPS-115 forms the heart of PAVE PAWS: a long-range early-warning radar built by Raytheon in the late 1970s to detect sea-launched ballistic missiles rising off America's coasts.[^ [“FPS-115,” FortWiki](https://www.fortwiki.com/FPS-115); [USSF PAVE PAWS fact sheet](https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197752/pave-paws-radar-system/) ([archive](http://web.archive.org/web/20260116000000*/spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197752/pave-paws-radar-system/)).] Its reported range is 3,000 nautical miles, roughly 5,600 km.[^ [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm) and [“FPS-115,” FortWiki](https://www.fortwiki.com/FPS-115) give 3,000 nautical miles; [Winkler, Searching the Skies (1997), p. 55](https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf) ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20260527000000*/nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf)) loosely says “3,000 miles.”] It was the first large all-solid-state phased-array radar to enter service anywhere in the world.[^ [HAER No. CA-319, Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System (Library of Congress, written report, PDF)](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3200/ca3254/data/ca3254data.pdf); [Eli Brookner, “Phased Arrays and Radars — Past, Present and Future,” Microwave Journal (2006)](https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/526-phased-arrays-and-radars-past-present-and-future).][^ The name PAVE was a US Air Force program prefix, not an acronym; PAWS stands for Phased Array Warning System. The terms “Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry” (USAF) and “Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry” (used by [Winkler, Searching the Skies (1997), p. 55](https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf) ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20260527000000*/nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/airdef/1997-06-01955.pdf)) and the Library of Congress HAER documentation) applied retrospectively. See [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm).]name ## Watching the sea By the mid-1970s the nightmare scenario had arrived offshore. A Soviet missile submarine lying off the Atlantic or Pacific coast could fire on a depressed trajectory and put warheads on Washington or Strategic Air Command bases in well under ten minutes, too fast for the northern-facing BMEWS radars built against ICBMs coming over the pole.[^ [Gronlund & Wright, “Depressed Trajectory SLBMs,” Science & Global Security 3 (1992)](https://scienceandglobalsecurity.org/archive/1992/06/depressed_trajectory_slbms_a_t.html) remains the definitive open analysis of why SLBMs compressed warning time so badly.] The Air Force's answer began life as SPARS, the SLBM Phased Array Radar System, before its renaming to PAVE PAWS in February 1975.[^ [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm).] The system's first years coincided with the era's most notorious warning scares: the November 1979 and June 1980 false alarms, when training tapes and a failed chip put US forces on alert. The declassified record of those incidents gives a window into the fears and visibility gaps that PAVE PAWS would plug.[^ [National Security Archive, “False Warnings of Soviet Missile Attacks, 1979–80” (declassified briefing book)](https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2020-03-16/false-warnings-soviet-missile-attacks-during-1979-80-led-alert-actions-us-strategic-forces).] ## The four sites The first radar pair covered the two coasts: Cape Cod Air Force Station in Massachusetts reached initial operational capability on April 4th, 1980, watching the Atlantic, and Beale AFB in California followed on August 15th, 1980, watching the Pacific.[^ [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm); [“FPS-115,” FortWiki](https://www.fortwiki.com/FPS-115). The 6th Missile Warning Squadron had activated at Cape Cod on October 1st, 1979.] In the mid-1980s an expansion added two southern faces against the Gulf of Mexico approaches: Robins AFB, Georgia (mission operational November 10th, 1986) and Eldorado Air Force Station, Texas (1986–87). The military built the second-pair of radars to an improved standard, often designated AN/FPS-123.[^ [GlobalSecurity, “PAVE PAWS at Robins”](https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/1999/nssrm/initiatives/robins.htm); [9th Space Warning Squadron, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Space_Warning_Squadron); [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm).] The southern sites barely outlived the Cold War that justified them. With the Soviet fleet no longer lurking in the Gulf, both shut down in 1995 and entered caretaker status.[^ [GlobalSecurity, “PAVE PAWS at Robins”](https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/1999/nssrm/initiatives/robins.htm); [Center for Land Use Interpretation, “Eldorado Air Force Station”](https://clui.org/ludb/site/eldorado-air-force-station).] Element Value Nomenclature FPS-115 Manufacturer Raytheon IEEE Band UHF Frequency 420-450 MHz PRF .02 to 20 Hz Pulse Width 250 to 16,000 us Rotation Speed Phased Arrays Power 600kw Peak (Per Face)150kw Average Range 3,000nmi~ UNCLASSIFIED // FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION ## How it works Everything before it (BMEWS, the DEW Line's sets) transmitted through vacuum tubes. PAVE PAWS was the first large phased-array radar to go all-solid-state: each building face carries 1,792 active transmit/receive modules (of 2,677 element positions, leaving room for growth), each is a small 340-watt transmitter in its own right.[^ [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm); [Eli Brookner, “Phased Arrays and Radars — Past, Present and Future,” Microwave Journal (2006)](https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/526-phased-arrays-and-radars-past-present-and-future); the T/R module design was published as “Solid State Transmit/Receive Module for the PAVE PAWS Phased Array Radar,” IEEE (1975).] The two faces tilt back 20 degrees and each scan 120 degrees of azimuth, giving 240 degrees of coverage from 3 to 85 degrees in elevation, with the beam steered entirely by electronics and zero moving parts.[^ [“AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS Radar,” FAS Space Policy Project](https://spp.fas.org/military/program/track/pavepaws.htm); [AN/FPS-115, radartutorial.eu](https://www.radartutorial.eu/19.kartei/01.oth/karte004.en.html). For an equation-level treatment of range and sensitivity, see [George N. Lewis, “Space Surveillance Sensors: The PAVE PAWS and BMEWS Radars” (2012)](https://mostlymissiledefense.com/2012/04/12/pave-paws-and-bmews-radars-april-12-2012/).] ## The Cape Cod fight PAVE PAWS may be the only Cold War radar whose loudest battle was with its neighbors. Concern about the beam's health effects on Upper Cape Cod predates the radar switching on: the National Academies reviewed the exposure question in 1979 while the station was still under construction, and roughly 300 people packed a public hearing at Sandwich High School that January.[^ [National Research Council, Analysis of the Exposure Levels and Potential Biologic Effects of the PAVE PAWS Radar System (1979)](https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19885/analysis-of-the-exposure-levels-and-potential-biologic-effects-of-the-pave-paws-radar-system); [Final EIS, PAVE PAWS Otis AFB (1979, DTIC ADA956473, archived)](http://web.archive.org/web/20250202023001/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA956473). The Air Force also published measured ground-level intensities: [“Radiation Intensity of the PAVE PAWS Radar System” (1979, DTIC ADA072333)](https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA072333).] The question never quite went away and, to the community's credit, it eventually produced genuine science. A citizens' Public Health Steering Group pushed measurement campaigns and independent review through the 2000s,[^ [PAVE PAWS Public Health Steering Group (pavepaws.org, archived)](http://web.archive.org/web/20200322162759/http://www.pavepaws.org/).] culminating in the National Academies' 2005 assessment: no increase in total or specific cancers because of the radar.[^ [National Research Council, An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-Level Phased-Array Radiofrequency Energy (2005)](https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11205/an-assessment-of-potential-health-effects-from-exposure-to-pave-paws-low-level-phased-array-radiofrequency-energy); the public summary is worth quoting. The administrative fight formally closed with the 2009 [Record of Decision, PAVE PAWS Cape Cod (2009, DTIC ADA504000)](https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA504000).] Beale's neighbors asked the same questions of the western face.[^ [Appeal-Democrat, “Beale radar studied”](https://www.appeal-democrat.com/beale-radar-studied-pave-paws-health-effects-examined-again/article_b7103f62-1c6c-5aff-8d4c-8cc2a431688d.html).] ## The move north Keeping the sites in caretaker status proved wise, with the military able to reuse and relocate pieces from the southern stations.The Clear Radar Upgrade involved trucking arrays from the shuttered sites (chiefly Eldorado's, with a face from Robins by some accounts) to Clear Air Force Station in Alaska, where they replaced the last of the original 1961 BMEWS equipment: the three AN/FPS-50 detection radars and the AN/FPS-92 tracker. The transplanted phased array began 24-hour operations on January 31st, 2001, and reusing the hardware saved roughly $140 million.[^ [GlobalSecurity, “SSPARS / Clear Radar Upgrade”](https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/sspars.htm); [9th Space Warning Squadron, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Space_Warning_Squadron); [Clear Space Force Station, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Space_Force_Station).] ## The UEWR era The radars watching the coasts today are no longer, strictly speaking, FPS-115s. Beale's was the first converted to the AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar configuration in 2005, joining ballistic missile defense flight tests the following year; Fylingdales followed in 2007, Thule in 2009, and Cape Cod and Clear in 2017–18.[^ [CSIS Missile Threat, “Upgraded Early Warning Radar”](https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/uewr/); [MDA UEWR fact sheet](https://www.mda.mil/global/documents/pdf/uewr1.pdf).] The UEWRs serve two masters at once: NORAD's Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment mission, and the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense fire control, which uses their tracks to cue interceptors.[^ [MDA UEWR fact sheet](https://www.mda.mil/global/documents/pdf/uewr1.pdf); [USSF PAVE PAWS fact sheet](https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197752/pave-paws-radar-system/) ([archive](http://web.archive.org/web/20260116000000*/spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/2197752/pave-paws-radar-system/)).] All three of the US sites operate under Space Delta 4 of the US Space Force: the 6th Space Warning Squadron at Cape Cod, the 7th at Beale, and the 13th at Clear, where Royal Canadian Air Force personnel serve alongside US crews at Cape Cod and Clear under NORAD's binational warning mission.[^ [USSF Space Delta 4 fact sheet](https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/article/3687813/space-delta-4/); [USSF 6th Space Warning Squadron fact sheet](https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/Article/3687880/6th-space-warning-squadron/); [USSF 7th Space Warning Squadron fact sheet](https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Display/Article/3687819/7th-space-warning-squadron/); [Clear Space Force Station, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Space_Force_Station). The USSF PAVE PAWS fact sheet's line that “both systems are operated by U.S. and Canadian personnel” appears to be a template artifact: no official source places Canadian crews at Beale.] Keeping 1980 radars credible isn't cheap (an $866 million sustainment contract covers the six-radar SSPARS family), and at Clear, the Long Range Discrimination Radar that represents the lineage's eventual successor entered service alongside the old array in 2024.[^ [Hanscom AFB, “$866M contract sustains 6 missile warning radars” (2018, archived)](http://web.archive.org/web/20260531172633/https://www.hanscom.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1556119/866m-contract-sustains-6-missile-warning-radars/); [Lockheed Martin LRDR transition release (2024)](https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2024-04-22-Lockheed-Martin-Successfully-Transitions-Long-Range-Discrimination-Radar-to-the-Missile-Defense-Agency).] ## Taiwan's PAVE PAWS The family's newest member watches a different sea. Under the Surveillance Radar Program, Raytheon built Taiwan an FPS-115-derived early-warning radar on Leshan mountain in Hsinchu County for roughly US$1.4 billion. First operational in February 2013, it's run by the Republic of China Air Force.[^ [“A Dossier on the PAVE PAWS Radar Installation on Leshan, Taiwan” (FAS, 2013, archived PDF)](http://web.archive.org/web/20250620042442/https://man.fas.org/eprint/leshan.pdf); [Stokes & Lee, Early Warning in the Taiwan Strait (Project 2049, 2022)](https://project2049.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Stokes-and-Lee-Early-Warning-in-the-Taiwan-Strait-Project-2049.pdf).] It gives the island about six minutes of warning against ballistic attack, feeds data both ways across the US-Taiwan relationship, and earned its keep publicly in August 2022 with tracking the PLA's missile salvos during the Pelosi-visit crisis.[^ [South China Morning Post (2020)](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3112692/taiwan-us-count-giant-radar-system-early-warning-if-pla-attacks); [Taiwan News, August 5th, 2022](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/4617572). Sustainment continues: Raytheon took a $412.6M Taiwan SRP support contract in 2022: [Military & Aerospace Electronics on the Taiwan SRP sustainment contract](https://www.militaryaerospace.com/sensors/article/14287700/radar-upgrade-missile-defense).] ## Beale AFB PAVE PAWS Installation These photographs come from the Historic American Engineering Record survey of the Beale site (HAER No. CA-319), shot by Joseph Scott Murphey around 2000, document the radar in its final years as an original-configuration FPS-115, shortly before the 2005 UEWR conversion. All are Library of Congress public domain.[^ [LOC record](https://www.loc.gov/item/ca3254/); the survey's [HAER No. CA-319, Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System (Library of Congress, written report, PDF)](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3200/ca3254/data/ca3254data.pdf) runs 57 pages and is the single richest document on the site's design and construction.] Beale AFB PAVE PAWS Installation 15 ITEMS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 PHOTO EVIDENCE // 15 ITEMS ON FILE × ‹ › (function() { var overlayId = "gallery-92ed5790-lightbox"; var thumbSelector = "[data-gallery=\"gallery-92ed5790\"]"; var indexAttr = "data-index"; var images = [{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/6459227a0c-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223800pu.avif","alt":"View of Face A and Face B Arrays, looking northeast, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"View of Face A and Face B Arrays, looking northeast","caption":"View of Face A and Face B Arrays, looking northeast - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott; Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress) - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223800p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/35d6164ef8-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223801pu.avif","alt":"View of Face B Array, looking northeast, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"View of Face B Array, looking northeast","caption":"View of Face B Array, looking northeast - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223801p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/45610b7373-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223802pu.avif","alt":"View of Face B Array, looking northwest, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"View of Face B Array, looking northwest","caption":"View of Face B Array, looking northwest - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223802p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/72db55adf7-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223803pu.avif","alt":"Looking northwest, Face B Array to left, Face C (rear) center, Power Plant (Building 5761), to right, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Looking northwest, Face B Array to left, Face C (rear) center, Power Plant (Building 5761), to right","caption":"Looking northwest, Face B Array to left, Face C (rear) center, Power Plant (Building 5761), to right - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223803p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/6f6fdcdc81-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223804pu.avif","alt":"Detail, Face C (rear), showing Interference Analysis System Linear Test Array mounted at Level 4A, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Detail, Face C (rear), showing Interference Analysis System Linear Test Array mounted at Level 4A","caption":"Detail, Face C (rear), showing Interference Analysis System Linear Test Array mounted at Level 4A - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223804p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/da0d7b5477-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223805pu.avif","alt":"Lower corner of Face B Array with near field horn, foreground left, looking north\/northwest, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Lower corner of Face B Array with near field horn, foreground left, looking north\/northwest","caption":"Lower corner of Face B Array with near field horn, foreground left, looking north\/northwest - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223805p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/607ecdbefc-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223806pu.avif","alt":"Detail of array panels, Face B, with active and terminated dipole elements, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Detail of array panels, Face B, with active and terminated dipole elements","caption":"Detail of array panels, Face B, with active and terminated dipole elements - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":""},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/3ba65847d0-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223807pu.avif","alt":"[no caption], at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"","caption":"[no caption] - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223807p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/ba0fc578ce-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223808pu.avif","alt":"Interior view, Array Room, transmitter-receiver modules, left to right, middle ground. Sub-array drive modules mounted on girders. Array module power supply equipment on floor in foreground, left to right, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Interior view, Array Room, transmitter-receiver modules, left to right, middle ground. Sub-array drive modules mounted on girders. Array module power supply equipment on floor in foreground, left to right.","caption":"Interior view, Array Room, transmitter-receiver modules, left to right, middle ground. Sub-array drive modules mounted on girders. Array module power supply equipment on floor in foreground, left to right. - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223808p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/0252aab0f1-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223809pu.avif","alt":"Closeup view of nested transmitter-receiver modules in Array Room, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Closeup view of nested transmitter-receiver modules in Array Room","caption":"Closeup view of nested transmitter-receiver modules in Array Room - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223809p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/1109a569b2-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223810pu.avif","alt":"Closeup view of sub-array driver module, mounted on girder at back of array, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Closeup view of sub-array driver module, mounted on girder at back of array","caption":"Closeup view of sub-array driver module, mounted on girder at back of array - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223810p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/6b1e0f8ab9-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223811pu.avif","alt":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), showing duplexed cyber 170-174 computers, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), showing duplexed cyber 170-174 computers","caption":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), showing duplexed cyber 170-174 computers - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223811p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/4c2d1dd7d5-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223812pu.avif","alt":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment","caption":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223812p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/2b17a8b6f1-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223813pu.avif","alt":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment, at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment","caption":"Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223813p"},{"src":"https:\/\/bunker.coldwar.tech\/media\/pages\/systems\/pave-paws\/f3be045f39-1774050439\/master-pnp-habshaer-ca-ca3200-ca3255-photos-223814pu.avif","alt":"Missile Warning Operations Center (MWOC), at the Beale AFB PAVE PAWS radar site, circa 2000.","title":"Missile Warning Operations Center (MWOC)","caption":"Missile Warning Operations Center (MWOC) - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Technical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA. Circa 2000.","credit":"Murphey, Joseph Scott - Public Domain","link":"http:\/\/hdl.loc.gov\/loc.pnp\/hhh.ca3255\/photos.223814p"}]; var overlay = document.getElementById(overlayId); if (!overlay) return; var imgEl = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-image-wrap img'); var titleEl = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-title'); var capEl = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-caption'); var credEl = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-credit'); var counterEl = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-counter'); var closeBtn = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-close'); var current = 0; var lastFocus = null; function show(index) { current = index; var data = images[index]; imgEl.src = data.src; imgEl.alt = data.alt; // Title titleEl.textContent = data.title || ''; titleEl.style.display = data.title ? '' : 'none'; // Caption — may contain HTML from Kirby writer field if (data.caption && data.caption !== data.title) { capEl.innerHTML = data.caption; capEl.style.display = ''; } else { capEl.innerHTML = ''; capEl.style.display = 'none'; } // Credit line: "Author — License" linked if source URL exists. // Built via DOM (not innerHTML) so field values can't inject markup; // only http(s) links are honoured. credEl.textContent = ''; var safeLink = data.link && /^https?:\/\//i.test(data.link) ? data.link : null; var creditText = data.credit || (safeLink ? 'Source' : ''); if (creditText) { if (safeLink) { var a = document.createElement('a'); a.href = safeLink; a.target = '_blank'; a.rel = 'noopener'; a.textContent = creditText; credEl.appendChild(a); } else { credEl.textContent = creditText; } } credEl.style.display = creditText ? '' : 'none'; counterEl.textContent = (index + 1) + ' / ' + images.length; if (!overlay.classList.contains('is-active')) { lastFocus = document.activeElement; overlay.classList.add('is-active'); closeBtn.focus(); } document.body.style.overflow = 'hidden'; } function hide() { overlay.classList.remove('is-active'); document.body.style.overflow = ''; if (lastFocus && typeof lastFocus.focus === 'function') { lastFocus.focus(); lastFocus = null; } } function next() { show((current + 1) % images.length); } function prev() { show((current - 1 + images.length) % images.length); } // Thumb clicks document.querySelectorAll(thumbSelector).forEach(function(thumb) { thumb.addEventListener('click', function() { show(parseInt(this.getAttribute(indexAttr), 10)); }); }); // Close on overlay background click overlay.addEventListener('click', function(e) { if (e.target === overlay) hide(); }); overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-close').addEventListener('click', hide); // Nav buttons var prevBtn = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-prev'); var nextBtn = overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-next'); if (prevBtn) prevBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e) { e.stopPropagation(); prev(); }); if (nextBtn) nextBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e) { e.stopPropagation(); next(); }); // Keyboard navigation + focus trap inside the dialog document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) { if (!overlay.classList.contains('is-active')) return; if (e.key === 'Escape') hide(); if (e.key === 'ArrowRight') next(); if (e.key === 'ArrowLeft') prev(); if (e.key === 'Tab') { var focusables = overlay.querySelectorAll('button, a[href]'); if (focusables.length === 0) return; var first = focusables[0]; var last = focusables[focusables.length - 1]; if (e.shiftKey && document.activeElement === first) { e.preventDefault(); last.focus(); } else if (!e.shiftKey && document.activeElement === last) { e.preventDefault(); first.focus(); } else if (!overlay.contains(document.activeElement)) { e.preventDefault(); first.focus(); } } }); // Prevent clicks on image/info from closing overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-image-wrap').addEventListener('click', function(e) { e.stopPropagation(); }); overlay.querySelector('.lightbox-info').addEventListener('click', function(e) { e.stopPropagation(); }); })(); ## Changelog **January 18th, 2026** - An earlier version of this article noted that Thule, Greenland and Fylingdale Moor, England installed FPS-115 radars; this is incorrect. RAF Fylingdales installed a AN/FPS-126 radar between 1989 and 1992 and upgraded to a AN/FPS-132 in 2007 [^ [RAF Equipment page archived in 2012](https://web.archive.org/web/20141226001539/http://www.raf.mod.uk/raffylingdales/aboutus/equipment.cfm)]. Multiple [^ [Yorkshire post article on 50th anniversary of RAF Fylingdales](https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030923/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/fylingdales-marks-first-50-years-1-6051990)] sources [^ [Visit report from 2002](https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/fylingdales-long-range-radar-station/) from Subterranea Britannica] confirm [^ [Interview with Lockheed Martin's Vice President of Radars and Sensor Systems to ESD in 2023](https://euro-sd.com/2023/06/news/32372/pas-2023-lockheed-martin-eyes-multiple-opportunities-for-its-new-generation-radars/)] these were installed as upgraded AN/FPS-126 Solid State Phased Array Radar System radars and not the original AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS. It appears this inaccuracy has existed online for decades, starting with [this brief mention ](https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/our-history/radar-day/)on the RAF website referring to the radar set by the incorrect designation and this [UK Heritage page](https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1309868&resourceID=19191) repeating that incorrect information. Because the AN/FPS-126 is upgraded model based on the AN/FPS-115[^ [Radar Turorial page on AN/FPS-115](https://www.radartutorial.eu/19.kartei/01.oth/karte004.en.html)], it's possible this caused the confusion. Thule actually received a AN/FPS-120 radar (also based on the FPS-115) [^ [TWZ article on Thule capabilities](https://www.twz.com/29541/the-u-s-cant-buy-greenland-but-thule-air-base-is-set-to-become-more-vital-than-ever-before).]. I have also reached out to the RAF media office for firm confirmation. This long update is my attempt to do my part to correct these errors. ## Resources Key references beyond the footnotes above: the [HAER No. CA-319, Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System (Library of Congress, written report, PDF)](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ca/ca3200/ca3254/data/ca3254data.pdf) (with its [LOC record](https://www.loc.gov/item/ca3254/)), [Hildreth, National Missile Defense and Early Warning Radars (CRS RL30654, 2000)](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30654.html) on the early-warning radar fleet's politics, [DVIDS, “The 6th Space Warning Squadron: Ever Aware”](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/391866/6th-space-warning-squadron-ever-aware) for the closest thing to a view inside a Missile Warning Operations Center, and [DVIDS Cape Cod SFS imagery (2024, public domain)](https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8550852/missile-warning-radar-cape-cod-space-force-station) for current UEWR-era photography of Cape Cod. Full source records live in [our archive](/archive/sources). ## Sources - [PAVE PAWS Radar System — USSF Fact Sheet](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/ussf-pave-paws-fact-sheet) (United States Space Force) - Official fact sheet on PAVE PAWS radar system - [PAVE PAWS — Federation of American Scientists Space Policy Project](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/fas-space-policy-project) (Federation of American Scientists) - FAS overview of PAVE PAWS capabilities and deployment - [National Missile Defense and Early Warning Radars: Background and Issues](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/ieee-national-missile-defense) (IEEE) - Technical reference on national missile defense radars - [Beale Air Force Tour Notes](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/beale-afb-tour-notes) (Ed Thelen) - Personal tour notes from Beale AFB visit - [PAVE PAWS — GlobalSecurity.org](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/globalsecurity-pave-paws) (GlobalSecurity.org) - GlobalSecurity.org reference page - [FPS-115 — FortWiki](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/fortwiki-fps-115) (FortWiki) - FortWiki encyclopedia entry on FPS-115 - [AN/FPS-115 — Radar Tutorial](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/radartutorial-fps-115) (Radar Tutorial) - Technical reference card for AN/FPS-115 - [Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/searching-the-skies-1997) (Headquarters Air Combat Command, 1997, pp. 55) - Comprehensive 1997 USAF history covering PAVE PAWS range and capabilities - [Historic American Buildings Survey — Beale Air Force Base](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/loc-habs-beale) (Library of Congress) - Library of Congress HABS documentation of Beale AFB - [Air Force eyes upgrades to PAVE PAWS, BMEWS, and PARCS ballistic missile warning radar](https://coldwar.tech/archive/sources/military-aerospace-pave-paws-upgrades) (Military & Aerospace Electronics) - News coverage of planned radar system upgrades Tags: Radar, Defense --- Canonical URL: https://coldwar.tech/systems/pave-paws Last updated: 2026-08-15