Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station ( ADC ID : M - 117 NORAD ID : Z - 117 ) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located southwest of Gaston , North Carolina . It was closed in 1978 . History . Roanoke Rapids AFS was established in 1954 by Air Defense Command as one of a planned deployment of forty - four Mobile radar stations to support the permanent ADC Radar network in the United States sited around the perimeter of the country . This deployment was projected to be operational by mid - 1952 . Funding , constant site changes , construction , and equipment delivery delayed deployment . This site became operational on 1 March 1956 when the 632d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned and began operating AN / MPS - 11 and AN / TPS - 10 D radars , 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 . Two years later , the AN / TPS - 10D was replaced with a pair of AN / FPS - 6 height - finder radars . The Ground Air Transmitting Receiving ( GATR ) Site for communications ( R - 16 ) was located at , approximately 126 miles south - southeast from the main site . It was originally established for the 614th AC & W Squadron at Cherry Point MCAS ( Z - 117 ) . Normally the GATR site was connected by a pair of buried telephone cables , with a backup connection of dual telephone cables overhead . The Coordinate Data Transmitting Set ( CDTS ) ( AN / FST - 2 ) at the main site converted each radar return into a digital word which was transmitted by the GATR via microwave to the Control Center . After Roanoke Rapids AFS was inactivated , R - 16 was used by OL - AA , 701st Radar Squadron at Fort Fisher AFS , NC . ( Z - 115 ) During 1959 Roanoke Rapids AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , initially feeding data to DC - 04 at Fort Lee AFS , Virginia . After joining , the squadron was re - designated as the 632d Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 October 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 . On 31 July 1963 , the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z - 117 . In 1966 an AN / FPS - 27 was performing search duties at this site . In addition to the main facility , Roanoke Rapids AFS operated two AN / FPS - 14 unmanned Gap Filler sites near the Atlantic coast : Over the years , the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars . The 632d was inactivated on September 30 , 1978 as part of a general reduction of Aerospace Defense Command air defense units . Today the site is abandoned with deteriorating buildings . Two radar towers remain in poor condition . The housing area is in use by private individuals . The Gap Filler support buildings remain , however the radar towers were dismantled and removed . Air Force units and assignments . Units : Assignments : External links .