Olathe Air Force Station Olathe Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force radar station that was located in Gardner , Kansas . It was located next to Naval Air Station Olathe , now the grounds of New Century AirCenter . History . In 1950 the United States Air Force Air Defense Command selected Olathe NAS as a site for one of twenty - eight radar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent ADC general radar surveillance network for the United States . 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 second segment of the permanent network . Olathe was to provide defense radar coverage of the Kansas City area . Receiving the Defense Secretary ’ s approval on July 21 , the Air Force directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of a radar station on the western part of the ground station , about a mile from the runway and ramp / hangars being used by the Navy . Additional housing units were also constructed at Olathe to accommodate the Air Force personnel . The Federalized Utah Air National Guard 130th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to the site on 1 June 1951 at the facilities of the 2472d Air Force Reserve Training Command , 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 . It was relieved from active duty and returned to control of the State of Utah on 1 February 1953 . The Ground Air Transmitting Receiving ( GATR ) Site for communications was located at , approximately 0 . 4 miles north from the main site . 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 . The national guardsmen were replaced by the 738th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron ( AC & W ) was activated at was designated by ADC as Olathe Air Force Station , being designated P - 72 . The squadron began operations in using AN / CPS - 4 and AN / FPS - 3 radars . The AN / CPS - 4 soon was replaced by an AN / FPS - 4 set that in turn was superseded by a pair of AN / FPS - 6 A sets in 1958 . In 1958 this site also replaced the AN / FPS - 3 set with an AN / FPS - 20 search radar . Olathe AFS used these radars in conjection with the Nike missile Army Air - Defense Command Post ( AADCP ) KC - 65DC ( 1959 – 1969 ) . In 1958 , the United States Army established an Air - Defense Command Post ( AADCP ) KC - 65DC with the Air Force radar station at Olathe for Nike missile command - and - control functions as part of the Kansas City Defense Area . The site was equipped with the AN / GSG - 5 ( V ) BIRDIE solid - state computer system . The Army radars were fully integrated with the Air Force network , and both Army and Air Force personnel operated the radars . In addition to the main facility , Olathe AFS operated the AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler site : In late 1959 this station was also performing air - traffic - control duties for the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) . In the early 1960s the search radar was upgraded and redesignated as an AN / FPS - 66 . During late January 1961 Olathe AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 22 at Sioux City AFS , Iowa . After joining , the squadron was re - designated as the 793d Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 February 1962 . 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 - 72 . 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 . In September 1968 the Air Force inactivated the 738th Radar Squadron due to budget reductions and a general phase - down of Air Defense Command . The Army inactivated the Nike - Hercules AADCP in 1969