Cudjoe Key TARS, Florida

This is one site in the network of platforms for inflated static aircraft (aerostats) that are raised aloft and cabled in place (tethered), for use as radar stations along the USA/Mexico border. Currently managed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) primary mission is to detect small aircraft entering into the country from the south. The system currently employs around eight of the unmanned aerostats, from Yuma, Arizona to Lajas, Puerto Rico. The blimps used are slightly larger than the Goodyear blimp, and can be raised to 10,000 feet, with around 2,000 pounds of radar gear, providing low-level radar coverage of the Florida Straits at a range of 200 miles. Cudjoe Key was the first TARS site developed by the government. It opened in 1980, operated by the Air Force. It is the only site with two TARS pads. One is used for blimps with the usual radar platform, while the other has had blimps that use transmission gear to broadcast US government radio and television programs aimed at Cuba.