Hastings Air Force Station

Hastings Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 5.2mi east of Hastings, Nebraska. It was closed in 1968.HistoryHastings Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23, 1952. Radars in this network were designated “SM.”The station became operational on 1 January 1962 with the activation of the 625th Radar Squadron (SAGE), feeding data to DC-22 at Sioux City AFS, Iowa. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 to the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction, altitude, speed, and whether aircraft were friendly or hostile. The deployment of the AN/FPS-67B search radar and two AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars to Hastings marked the completion of the second phase of the mobile radar program.The radars were operated until 1968 when Air Defense Command closed the station as part of a draw down of assets and budget reductions. Today, what was Hastings AFS is now known as the "Radar Industrial Park". It is generally abandoned, with the few buildings that remain severely deteriorated.Air Force units and assignmentsUnits: 625th Radar Squadron, Activated on 1 January 1962 Inactivated on 8 September 1968 Assignments: Sioux City Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1962 30th Air Division, 1 April 1966 – 8 September 1968