Mount Laguna Air Force Station Mount Laguna Air Force Station ( ADC ID : P - 76 , NORAD ID : Z - 76 ) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located north - northeast of Tecate , California . It was closed in 1981 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 - 30 . History . Mount Laguna 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 United States Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction . The 751st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was initially assigned to Mount Laguna by September 1951 . Within months the radar assumed coverage formerly provided by the Minter Field Lashup site ( L - 34 ) . At that time the 751st AC & W Squadron operated AN / CPS - 4 and AN / FPS - 3 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 intruder s picked up on the unit ' s radar scopes . An AN / FPS - 8 replaced the AN / CPS - 4 in 1955 . This radar then was converted to an AN / GPS - 3 in 1956 , and removed in 1960 . 1956 also saw the arrival of an AN / FPS - 6 at the site . During 1961 Mount Laguna AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 17 at Norton AFB , California . After joining , the squadron was redesignated as the 751st Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 1 May 1961 . The radar squadron provided information 24 / 7 to the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range , direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile . By 1962 the 751st operated an AN / FPS - 7 C search radar and AN / FPS - 6 and 6B height - finder radars . In 1963 the - 6B was upgraded to an AN / FPS - 90 set . Mount Laguna AFS ' s site number changed to NORAD ID Z - 76 on 31 July 1963 . In 1964 the AN / FPS - 6 was replaced by an AN / FPS - 26 A FD height - finder radar ; this radar was converted to an AN / FSS - 7 SLBM D & W radar in 1966 . Mt . Laguna became a joint - use ADC / FAA facility around 1965 . In addition to the main facility , Mount Laguna Air Force Station operated several AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : 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 751st Radar Sq was inactivated and replaced by the 751st Air Defense Group in March 1970 . The upgrade to group status was done because of Mount Laguna AFS ' status as a Backup Interceptor Control ( BUIC ) site . BUIC sites were alternate control sites in the event that SAGE Direction Centers became disabled and unable to control interceptor aircraft . The group was inactivated and replaced by the 751st Radar Squadron . as defenses against manned bombers were reduced . The group was disbanded in 1984 . In 1979 Mount Laguna came under Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) jurisdiction with the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command and the creation of ADTAC . In the early 1980s the FAA assumed greater control , with the inactivation of the 751st Radar Squadron on 30 September 1981 . The FAA replaced the AN / FPS - 7E with an ARSR - 3 search radar , leaving the Air Force only responsible for the height - finder tower ( by then an AN / FPS - 116 ) , which was removed c . 1988 . In the late 1990s , the ARSR - 3 was replaced by the ARSR - 4 . Today Mount Laguna is an FAA site , tied into the Joint Surveillance System ( JSS ) . The former Air Force Station has been abandoned since 1981 , the facilities in disrepair . The buildings that once housed up to 400 Air Force personnel at Mount Laguna are now gutted shells covered with graffiti and filled with construction debris . For years , U . S . Forest Service officials have wanted to demolish the buildings at the abandoned base , but no money was available . In 2009 , funds became available for site restoration and the barracks , administration building , mess hall and other buildings that made up the Laguna Mountain Air Force Base have been torn down using money from $ 18 . 2 million in stimulus funds for Forest Service facilities in disrepair in 14 California counties . Air Force units and assignments . Units . Squadron Group