Almaden Air Force Station was established in 1954 by Air Defense Command as one of a planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations to support the permanent ADC Radar network in the United States sited around the perimeter of the country. This deployment was projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment. Almaden AFS was located on the summit of Mount Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the station is a few miles south of San Jose, California and sits above Almaden Valley. Great difficulties were encountered in construction at this site. During fiscal year 1957, the Air Defense Command held up construction due to funding shortfalls.