Grand Forks ABM site

Spartan warhead on display for your viewing pleasure.

When you drive to the MSR on your next family vacation don't forget to pick up you tourist info here. This site is near the town of Nekoma. You can't miss it, it's the biggest thing in the area. The MSR itself is bigger than most towns in the area. Another radar site about 25 miles from here, the PAR ( Perimeter Acquisition Radar ) detected the missiles coming over the pole and alerted the MSR to their positions so it could track the incoming missiles and guide ours on a colission course.

Back in the days this radar would track incoming Soviet missiles as they made their trip across the pole. It would also guide our 100 or so missiles toward them in an effort to save any of our Minuteman missiles still in the ground at Grand Forks. As technology evolved and we now have systems that have proved a better success record than these old defence systems, there is talk of reopening the facillity. We are more interested in stopping a limited attack, not so much by the Soviets, but by rogue nations, as nuclear and missile technology proliferates.

Here you can see the radar and parts of the underground launch buildings. The launch buildings are the concrete structures sticking up just to the right of the radar building. ( Yeah Johnny, it's that big pyramid thing ) The launch buildings weren't built far below ground, and what did stick up above ground level was covered with dirt. From a distance it looks like a big earthen bunker. Closer examination will reveal that it is some pretty thick concrete with alot of dirt surrounding it. I don't know to what extent, but these things were fairly hardened structures. You'll see more as you read on.

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