"Matador" - Last active American Radar - Villatobas, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain - Abandoned Air Force Radar Sites on Waymarking.com

Fifty-six years after it came into operation, the first North American radar active in Spain -and the last one that was still operational- was turned off this Monday at the Air Surveillance Squadron (EVA) number 2 of Villatobas (Toledo), in a ceremony that has been presided over by the Air Force Air Combat Command Chief, Lieutenant General Eugenio Ferrer Pérez, in charge of pressing the button that has sent him to eternal rest.

This radar was part of the Spanish Air Defense System originated after the Aid Agreement for Mutual Defense, signed by Spain and the United States in September 1953, and which crystallized in 1957 with the entry into service of the AN/FPS20 surveillance radars. and AN/FPS6 height, as well as the associated equipment belonging to the MAP program (US Military Assistance Program).

These two types of radars were modernized in 1969, 1973 and in the 1990s, being called AN/FPS113 and AN/FPS90, respectively, since their last update. Despite the continuous technological modernization, all of them have kept some of their original parts until the moment of being turned off.

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Cincuenta y seis años después de su entrada en funcionamiento, el primer radar norteamericano activo en España -y el último que estaba todavía operativo- ha sido apagado este lunes en el Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea (EVA) número 2 de Villatobas (Toledo), en una ceremonia que ha estado presidida por el Jefe del Mando Aéreo de Combate del Ejército del Aire, el teniente general Eugenio Ferrer Pérez, encargado de apretar el botón que lo ha mandado al descanso eterno.

Este radar formaba parte del Sistema de Defensa Aérea español originado tras el Convenio de Ayuda para la Mutua Defensa, que firmaron España y Estados Unidos en septiembre de 1953, y que cristalizó en 1957 con la entrada en servicio de los radares de vigilancia AN/FPS20 y de altura AN/FPS6, así como de los equipos asociados pertenecientes al programa MAP (US Military Assistance Program).

Estos dos tipos de radares fueron modernizados en 1969, 1973 y en la década de los noventa, denominándose desde su última actualización como AN/FPS113 y AN/FPS90, respectivamente. Pese a la continua modernización tecnológica, todos ellos han mantenido hasta el momento de ser apagados algunas de sus piezas originales.

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Source of the information and the pictures: Report in a national digital newspaper (Libertad Digital): https://www.libertaddigital.com/espana/2013-10-28/el-ejercito-del-aire-apaga-el-ultimo-radar-norteamericano-operativo-en-espana-1276502859/
Report in an army digital newspaper (Defensa.com): https://www.defensa.com/espana/ejercito-aire-apaga-ultimo-radar-americano-operativo

Squadron number: Escuadrón de Vigilancia Aérea (EVA) número 2 de Villatobas (Toledo) Served at this site :: From: 01/01/1957 To: 10/28/2013 Related Web Sites: [Web Link]

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