Makah Air Force Station Makah Air Force Station ( ADC ID : P - 44 , NORAD ID : Z - 44 ) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located south of Neah Bay , Washington . It was closed in 1988 by the Air Force , and turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) . Today the site is part of the Joint Surveillance System ( JSS ) , designated by NORAD as Western Air Defense Sector ( WADS ) Ground Equipment Facility J - 80 . History . Makah 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 . The land for this site was leased from the Makah Indian Reservation . The 758th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron ( AC & W Sq ) was activated at Bahokus Peak on 27 November 1950 , which assumed coverage from the temporary " lashup " site L - 34 at Neah Bay . The 758 AC & W Sq started operating an AN / FPS - 3 long - range search radar and an AN / CPS - 4 height - finder radar , 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 station was renamed Makah AFS on 1 December 1953 . During 1960 Makah AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 12 at McChord AFB , Washington . After joining , the squadron was redesignated as the 758th Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 April 1960 . 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 . During the 1960s this site saw a variety of radars . By 1963 the squadron operated an AN / FPS - 7 A search radar and AN / FPS - 90 and AN / FPS - 26 A height - finder radars . 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 the 1970s , the AN / FPS - 7A was modified to an AN / FPS - 107 V1 . Circa 1977 the AN / FPS - 90 height - finder radar was modified to an AN / FPS - 116 . In October 1979 Makah came under Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) jurisdiction with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the creation of ADTAC . Circa 1980 the AN / FPS - 107V1 was replaced with an AN / FPS - 91 A search set , with an AN / TPS - 43 E search radar temporarily operating atop the old AN / FPS - 26A tower during the radar change - over . On 15 June 1988 the 758th Radar Squadron was inactivated and the Air Force reduced its presence at Makah Air Force Station , closing most facilities . The radar site was turned over to the FAA , however a small detachment from McChord AFB was assigned to maintain the radars . The AN / FPS - 116 was retired c . 1988 . In the latter 1990 ’ s the AN / FPS - 91A was replaced by an FAA - operated ARSR - 4 radar . The FAA now the radar at the site as part of the Joint Surveillance System ( JSS ) . The station and housing were turned over to the Makah people , and the former Air Force station now is the Makah Tribal Council Center . It is well maintained and in use by the tribe .