Waverly Air Force Station Waverly Air Force Station ( ADC ID : P - 83 , NORAD ID : Z - 83 ) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located south of Waverly , Iowa . It was closed in 1969 . History . Waverly Air Force Station was one of twenty - eight stations built as part of the second segment of the Air Defense Command permanent radar network . Prompted by the start of the Korean War , on July 11 , 1950 , the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the permanent network . Receiving the Defense Secretary ’ s approval on July 21 , the Air Force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction . 87 . 66 acres were acquired , when the Air Force constructed and operated Waverly Air Force Station , which included 84 structures , a firing range , a septic system , fuel storage tanks , and electrical power . It is noted that the Air Force had a year - to - year lease for this area beginning April 1950 , but the leased area was not identical to the eventual property acquired by fee . Northwestern Bell was granted a 50 - year lease on the installation to furnish communication services . The 788th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated at Waverly on 10 April 1951 . By early 1952 , the squadron had activated a pair of AN / FPS - 10 radars at this station , and initially the station functioned as a Ground - Control Intercept ( GCI ) and warning station . As a GCI station , the squadron ' s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit ' s radar scopes . The AN / FPS - 10 search radars continued operating until replaced in the 1960s with an AN / FPS - 27 . In 1959 an AN / FPS - 6 and 6A replaced the other AN / FPS - 10 height - finder radar . During 1959 Waverly AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 07 at Truax Field , Wisconsin . After joining , the squadron was redesignated as the 788th Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 November 1959 . The radar squadron provided information 24 / 7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range , direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile . By 1963 one of the height - finder radars was replaced by an AN / FPS - 90 , and the station was re - designated as NORAD ID Z - 83 on 31 July . In addition to the main facility , Waverly operated three AN / FPS - 18 Gap Filler sites : Routine operations were performed until the late 1960s when the Air Force inactivated the 788th and Waverly AFS on 30 September 1969 . After its inactivation , the Air Force demolished one of the radar buildings ( building 310 ) , leaving the foundation intact . Building 309 , another radar building , had its stainless steel dome removed , leaving the walls , foundation , and stairways intact . The radar station was excessed by the Air Force to GSA in April 1971 , which in August transferred 8 . 63 acres , which included the 3 . 94 - acre family housing area , to the Dept . of the Navy . 4 . 13 acres had previously been transferred to the Army in May 1968 , for use by the Iowa National Guard and known as the Waverly Army National Guard Training Facility . Today it is abandoned . The station buildings are in various states of use or decay , the radar towers still standing .