AN/GPA-35 Ground Environment
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The Westinghouse AN/GPA-35 Ground Environment (GPA-35 colloq.) was a United States Air Force surface-to-air missile weapons direction system. It was used for launch and steering during CIM-10 Bomarc tests during the Cold War.[1] The command guidance system manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corporation used Bendix AN/FPS-20 Radar data to track the missile.[2][3] Lincoln Laboratory Division 6 had an AN/GPA-35 Study Group for integrating the AN/GPA-35 into the SAGE System.[4]
Notable launches with GPA-35 guidance included:[3]
- October 1956 — Six launches were used to test the AN/GPA-35 capability to command BOMARC intercept of QB-17 drones.
- October 1957 — A BOMARC test with "live high-explosive warhead" failed when the GPA-35 commanded "faulty mid-course guidance".
- 1 May 1958 — The "GPA-35 could not control the missile beyond 130 miles."
- 7 August 1958 — A GPA-35 took control of an airborne BOMARC from the Experimental SAGE Sector, and the missile malfunctioned and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
- 6 March 1959 — A straying BOMARC was self-destructed near the western boundary of the Eglin Gulf Test Range after a GPA-35 had transmitted the wrong commands.
- 13 April 1959 — The GPA-35 lost control of the missile 100 seconds after launch.[5]
- 24 April 1959 — GPA-35 control was used for simultaneous guidance of two BOMARCS.[5]
In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "AN/GPA-35" designation represents the 35th design of an Army-Navy electronic device for ground radar auxiliary system. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems.
