Clear Air Force Station Clear Air Force Station is a United States Air Force Station located 5 miles ( 8 km ) south of Anderson , Alaska , USA , northeast of Mount McKinley , and southwest of Fairbanks . Its primary mission is to detect incoming ICBM s and submarine - launched ballistic missile s . Overview . Clear AFS is operated by the Alaska Air National Guard 213th Space Warning Squadron ( 213 SWS ) . The primary mission is to provide Early Warning of Intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBMs ) and Submarine - launched ballistic missile ( SLBMs ) to the Missile Correlation Center ( MCC ) at North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) . The secondary mission of Clear AFS is to provide Space Surveillance data on orbiting objects to the Air Force Space Command Space Control Center ( SCC ) also located in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex . Clear accomplishes these missions using the Solid State Phased Array Radar System ( SSPARS ) radar . History . Clear Air Force Station has a rich history with very humble beginnings . The area ' s first permanent landmark was the Alaska Railroad whose line from Anchorage to Fairbanks was completed in 1918 . The land was purchased by the Department of the Interior in 1949 . Alaskan Air Command soon designated it Clear Air Force Auxiliary Field , part of Ladd Field , for use as a gunnery range . 1950s . In 1959 , a strip of wilderness at Clear was appropriated to become Site II of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System ( BMEWS ) . Site I , Thule Air Base , was already under construction at Thule , Greenland , and Site III , RAF Fylingdales , would soon follow near Fylingdales Moor , North Yorkshire , England . A camp area was erected adjacent to the railroad , and groundbreaking for the new radar took place in May 1959 . Over the next two years , construction would continue on the three massive detection radars The radars , designed by GE and MIT ' s Lincoln Lab and built by RCA , measure , and weighed each . Considering there were no major roads in the area at the time , the construction of Clear was an enormous undertaking with a final price tag of $ 360 , 000 , 000 . 1960s . In addition to the technical site ( the area containing the radars , radar support buildings , and power plant ) , two permanent dormitories , a mess hall , recreation area , and administrative area ( collectively known as the composite site ) were also completed nearby . Initial operational capability was achieved on July 1 , 1961 , and full operational capability was declared three months later . In November 1961 , the Air Force ' s Air Defense Command accepted the facilities from Air Force Systems Command , which had been overseeing construction . The responsibility for operation lay with Detachment 2 of the 71st Missile Warning Wing . Although the site belonged to the Air Force , civilian contractor personnel actually performed the missile - warning mission until 1964 , when Air Force personnel finally permanently manned the Tactical Operations Room ( TOR ) . In 1964 , the Good Friday Earthquake , the second largest earthquake ever recorded , shook Alaska . Although no casualties were sustained , the earthquake caused the site to " go red " ( unable to perform the mission ) for six minutes . Although designed to detect incoming missiles , Clear ' s radars were also useful in tracking satellites in low earth orbits . Further improving this capability , as well as providing enhanced accuracy of launch and impact predictions , was the mechanical tracking radar , an diameter radar on a moving pedestal housed in a diameter radome . The tracker became operational in 1966 . On January 1 , 1967 , Detachment 2 became the newly created 13th Missile Warning Squadron . One of the squadron ' s first acts was to provide emergency shelter to 216 refugees from Fairbanks and the surrounding area when a devastating flood struck the region in August 1967 . That same year , the squadron was given funding for additional building construction . Despite the new construction , many of the " temporary " buildings from the original camp area are still in use today . Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s , Clear played a part in a series of experiments affecting its radars . One such experiment was conducted by the University of Alaska , which injected sulfur hexafluoride into the upper atmosphere to see if the Aurora Borealis could be dissipated or intensified . 1970s . In 1970 , Clear received its first Outstanding Unit Award . In 1971 , the 13th MWS was reassigned from the 71st Missile Warning Wing to the 14th Aerospace Force . The 1970s also saw a number of firsts at Clear , including the assignment of its first female officer in 1973 . In the same year , the 13th MWS was awarded its second Air Force Outstanding Unit Award . The 13th was reassigned from Air Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) through 15th Air Force in 1979 . 1980s . In 1981 , Clear underwent a major modification when it was feared that the radome , housing the tracker radar , was unsafe ; a nearly identical radome had recently burnt to the ground at Thule . This project saw the disassembly of the tracker , the demolishing of the existing radome , the construction of a new radome , and the reconstruction of the tracker . The 13th was again reassigned on May 1 , 1983 , this time to Space Command ' s 1st Space Wing . Another first at Clear , which received a lot of local publicity , was the first all - female crew , which pulled a shift on February 28 , 1986 . When Thule and Fylingdales were converted to phased - array radar systems , Clear became the last mechanical missile warning site in the US . It was decided that Clear would be upgraded with a phased - array as well , and the Clear Radar Upgrade ( CRU ) was born . Clear Radar Upgrade . Rather than build a completely new radar , the CRU utilized existing radar components from the deactivated PAVE PAWS SLBM warning site at Eldorado Air Force Station , Texas . Ground was broken for the new radar in April 1998 . The new radar is known as the Solid - State Phased - Array Radar System ( SSPARS — pronounced " ES - pars " ) . On December 15 , 2000 , after nearly 40 years of operation , the last of the original BMEWS radars ceased transmitting , and the SSPARS began 24 - hour operations . Initial Operational Capability was declared on January 31 , 2001 . 2000s . More recently Clear underwent another metamorphosis . In 2001 Clear began its transition from an Active Duty , dependent restricted , remote short tour to a full time Active Alaska Air National Guard unit . Despite the many hurdles , Clear celebrated the historic standup of the 213th Space Warning Squadron on 30 August 2006 . This marks the first time a Guard unit has taken on a mission of this type . Clear now comprises Active Duty Air Force , Alaska Air National Guard , Canadian Air Force , civilian , and contractor personnel .