Topic summary

Eglin AFB Site C-6

Eglin AFB Site C-6

Eglin AFB Site C-6 is a United States Space Forceradar station which houses the AN/FPS-85phased array radar, associated computer processing system(s), and radar control equipment designed and constructed for the U.S. Air Force by the Bendix Communications Division, Bendix Corporation. Commencing operations in 1969, the AN/FPS-85 was the first large phased array radar. The entire radar/computer system is located at a receiver/transmitter building and is supported by the site's power plant, fire station, 2 water wells (for 128 people), and other infrastructure for the system. As part of the US Space Force's Space Surveillance Network its mission is to detect and track spacecraft and other manmade objects in Earth orbit for the Combined Space Operations Centersatellite catalogue. With a peak radiated power of 32 megawatts the Space Force claims it is the most powerful radar in the world, and can track a basketball-sized object up to 22,000 nautical miles (41,000 km) from Earth. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, the radar's "AN/FPS-85" designation represents the 85th design of an Army-Navy fixed radar(pulsed) electronic device for searching.