AN/FSQ-8 Combat Control Central

The AN/FSQ-8 Combat Control Central was a United States Air Force computerized command and control system. Several of the centrals were used in the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense network for Cold War ground-controlled interception to give "each combat center the capability to coordinate defense for the whole nation". Each AN/FSQ-8 (“AN/FSQ” derives from “Army-Navy / Fixed Special eQuipment”) was a smaller variant of the AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central with less equipment since the Q8 received processed air defense data from AN/FSQ-7 centrals at Direction Centers. The AN/FSQ-8 centrals were housed in eight 3-story SAGE Combat Center (SCC) buildings similar to the Direction Center building (some were colocated) and the Q8s allowed "supervision of the several sectors within the division." The Combat Centers "forwarded the divisional air defense status to" NORAD (initially at Ent AFB in 1957, the Chidlaw Building in 1963, and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in 1966).