Falling Leaves was an improvised ballistic missile early warning system of the United States Air Force.
Intelligence sources in Cuba then reported lengthy missiles transported through towns, and three R-12 sites were photographed by Lockheed U-2s by October 19.
[2] The Falling Leaves system used the following:[2] As Fred Dobbs writes of his experience as an airman at Thomasville Air Force Radar Base in Alabama (newly deployed in 1962[6]),[better source needed]
The FPS-49 radar detected a Cape Canaveral launch Titan II ICBM on October 26 (N-12 Mk 6 reentry vehicle test)[7]—the trajectory was determined to be safely Southeastward over the Atlantic Missile Range.
[10] After the Cuban Missile Crisis, a contract to Bendix Corporation was issued on April 2, 1962 to construct a long range radar at Eglin AFB, FL.