BMEWS is gone!

CLEAR AIR FORCE STATION, Alaska – A crew watches as cables are attached to the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar before demolition at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, Oct. 18, 2016. The radar was taken down and is being removed and recycled to make way for new construction. (Courtesy photo)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
BMEWS is gone!

CLEAR AIR FORCE STATION, Alaska – Crews use cables and excavators to demolish the defunct Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, Oct. 18, 2016. The radar was taken down and is being removed and recycled to make way for new construction. (Courtesy photo)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
BMEWS is gone!

CLEAR AIR FORCE STATION, Alaska – Crews use cables and excavators to demolish the defunct Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, Oct. 26, 2016. The radar was taken down and is being removed and recycled to make way for new construction. (Courtesy photo)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
BMEWS is gone!

CLEAR AIR FORCE STATION, Alaska – A crew watches as cables are attached to the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar before demolition at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, Oct. 18, 2016. The radar was taken down and is being removed and recycled to make way for new construction. (Courtesy photo)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

BMEWS is gone!

Published Oct. 31, 2016
By 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

CLEAR AIR FORCE STATION, Alaska -- Demolition of the defunct Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar began Oct. 18 at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska.

The radar stood for nearly 50 years and was decommissioned in 2002 when the Solid-State Phased Array Radar System was activated. The other two BMEWS sites were in Thule Air Base, Greenland, and Fylingdales-Moor, United Kingdom.

The demolition took only minutes and was accomplished by attaching cables to the structure and using three excavators to bring it down. The antennae stood 140 feet high and were 400 feet long.

The nine-person crew then used the excavators and shears to cut the antennae into more manageable sizes to move the pieces to a recycling site. The rest of the destruction and removal should be completed by mid-November.

The site began preparing for the demolition on Aug. 1. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is managing the project and awarded a contract to a Florida-based company for removal of the old radar.

The site is being cleared for future construction.