Falling Leaves (radar network)

Falling Leaves was the improvised ballistic missile early warning system during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that networked 3 existing CONUS radars—2 Space Detection and Tracking System (SPADATS) radars and an Aircraft Control and Warning general surveillance radar which was modified by Sperry Corporation to 1,500 mi (2,400 km) range, allowing detection in space near Cuba.[1] The "Cuban Missile Early Warning System (CMEWS)" radars were "realigned" to monitor for nuclear missile launches from the new Soviet launch sites[2] after Soviet R-12 Dvina IRBMs arrived on September 8, intelligence sources in Cuba had reported lengthy missiles transported through towns, and three R-12 sites were photographed by Lockheed U-2s by October 19.

Not to be confused with anti-aircraft surveillance radars deployed to Florida during the crisis or the SAC program that granted/rescinded temporary spot promotions for winning the bomb/nav competition.

Designated by the 9th Aerospace Defense Division at Colorado's Ent AFB, Falling Leaves used the following:[2]

  • RCA AN/FPS-49 Radar Set prototype[3] of 1961[4]:54 in New Jersey during development for the under-construction BMEWS Site III which was to have 3 of the tracking radars. The prototype was "withdrawn from SPADATS and realigned to provide missile surveillance over Cuba" on 24 October.[2]
  • AN/FPS-78[2] in Texas, to which was added "real time radar display equipment" from an Alaska radar station.[5] (realigned 26 October)
  • Sperry AN/FPS-35 Frequency Diversity Radar[6] in Alabama, operated by "Task Force Able"[5] and later awarded a Unit Citation for Falling Leaves (698th[1] commanded by Lt. Colonel Kenneth Gordon[5]). (30 October)

Operations

Falling Leaves operations involved the closest radar in Alabama (newly deployed in 1962)[6] sweeping at a lower ballistic missile altitude from Cuba first. "Then a beam from [the farther] Texas radar swept across the top of [the Alabama beam's altitude]. Finally, a radar in New Jersey was adjusted to sweep over the Texas beam."[1] A "Full Bird Colonel" of Task Force Able watched each "sweep go round and round … each of them had a headset, and an open mike [sic] to NORAD."[1] Information communicated to the Ent AFB BMEWS Central Computer and Display Facility was synthesized to provide missile warning to display processors at the Pentagon and Strategic Air Command.

The FPS-49 radar detected a Cape Canaveral Titan II ICBM launch on October 26 (N-12 Mk 6 reentry vehicle test)[7]—the trajectory was determined to be safely Southeastward over the Atlantic Missile Range.[5] On October 28, a test tape inserted at the New Jersey radar site caused a false alarm indicating a missile would impact Tampa[8] and later the same day, an unidentified radar track over Georgia was recognized as a satellite.[9] On November 28 the New Jersey and Texas radars returned to their SPADATS mission, and the Alabama radar continued coverage for Cuba launches until late December.[10]

"In the wake [sic] of the Cuban Missile Crisis, an AN/FPS-85 long-range phased-array radar was constructed at Eglin AFB", Florida,[4] beginning in October 1962[11] (a contract to Bendix Corporation had been issued on April 2, 1962.)[12] In 1972, 20% of the FPS-85 "surveillance capability…became dedicated to search for SLBMs.[13]

References
  1. Dobbs, Fred C (August 31, 2006). "Falling Leaves" (military anecdote). It's just Papa. Retrieved 2014-04-17. In early October, 1962, we received word that a special team from Sperry was coming in to extend the range of our receiver by three to five times. This would make it possible for us to see objects up to 1500 miles away. At that range, our beam would be in space due the [sic] curvature of the earth.
  2. North American Air Defense Command Historical Summary (Report).
  3. Bate, Mueller, and White (1971) [origyear tbd]. Fundamentals of Astronautics (Google books). ISBN 9780486600611. Retrieved 2014-03-05. FPS-49 has an 85-foot mechanically-steered dish antenna weighing 106 tons … up to 10° per second.8 The prototype is located at Moorestown, New JerseyCS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ("prototype" is also identified by a webpage.)
  4. Winkler, David F; Webster, Julie L (June 1997). Searching the Skies: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program (Report). Champaign, IL: U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. LCCN 97020912. Retrieved 2013-04-23. AN/FPS-35 search radars located at Manassas, Virginia, and Benton, Pennsylvania, received modifications and began to be tested during the summer of 1962. During these tests, both radars attempted to track Polaris, Minuteman, Titan, and the Thor-Delta missile launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The tests revealed that the AN/FPS-35 had only marginal ability to detect missile launches.73 (transcription available at the Federation of American Scientists website)
  5. Sagan, Scott D (1993). "Chapter 4" (PDF). The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Chapter excerpt at webpage is the source for Falling Leaves). ISBN 9780691021010. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  6. "AN/FPS-35 Radar - United States Nuclear Forces". fas.org. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  7. "tbd". Retrieved 2014-04-16. 2 October 26---17:05 GMT---Cape Canaveral LC15. LV Model: Titan 2. Titan II N-12 Mk 6 re-entry vehicle test launch Agency: USAF AFSC. Apogee: 1,300 km (800 mi).
  8. Jeanes, I. (1996). Forecast and Solution: Grappling with the Nuclear, a Trilogy for Everyone. Pocahontas Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780936015620. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  9. George, Alice L (2003). Awaiting Armageddon: How Americans Faced the Cuban Missile Crisis. UNC Press Books. p. 57. Retrieved 2014-04-19 – via Internet Archive. Falling Leaves cuba missile.
  10. NORAD/CONAD Participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Historical Reference Paper No. 8, Directorate of Command History Continental Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO , 1 Feb 63 (Top Secret NOFORN declassified 9 March 1996)
  11. "20th Space Control Squadron". Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  12. North American Air Defense Command Historical Summary (Report).
  13. Jane's Radar and Electronic Systems, 6th edition, Bernard Blake, ed. (1994), p. 31 (cited by Winkler)
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