Editing Pyote Air Force Base (section)

===Air Defense Radar Station===
[[File:ADC TM-186 Pyote Air Force Station TX 2006 USGS.jpg|thumb|A 2006 photo of Air Defense Command Radar Site TM-186, Pyote Air Force Station, closed and abandoned in 1963]]
In April 1958, the base was reopened as Pyote Air Force Station (TM-186), a radar installation acting as one link in a chain of installations that were part of an early-warning network in case of Soviet air attack during the Cold War.  The  [[697th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron]], an [[Air Defense Command]] [[34th Air Division]] unit, operated a radar site about {{convert|3.6|mi|km}} southwest of the main containment area {{Coord|31|28|46|N|103|11|26|W|name=TM-186}}.   The 697th ACWS operated a Bendix  [[AN/FPS-3]] search radar with a range  around 200 miles; it also operated a General Electric [[AN/FPS-6]] height-finder radar with a range around 300 miles.  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 intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.

In addition to the radar station, the Air Force built base housing and several support buildings.  The NW/SE runway was also activated and used to fly crews in and out of the base and for logistical support.

In March 1963, the Air Force ordered the site to close. Operations at Pyote ceased on 1 August 1963.<ref>[http://www.radomes.org/cgi-bin/museum/acwinfo2x.cgi?site=%22Pyote+AFS,+TX%22&key=PyoteAFSTX&pic=PyoteAFSTX&doc=PyoteAFSTX Information for Pyote AFS, TX]</ref>  With the ADC facility closed, Pyote AFB was declared surplus, and turned over to the [[General Services Administration]] (GSA) for disposal.<ref>[http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/465/592.xml USAFHRA Document 00465592]</ref>