AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central

The AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central (colloq. Q7) was a computerized command and control system for Cold War ground-controlled interception used in the USAF Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense network. The largest computer system ever built, each of the 24 installed machines weighed 250 tons and had two computers. The AN/FSQ-7 used a total of 60,000 vacuum tubes (49,000 in the computers) and up to 3 megawatts of electricity, performing about 75,000 instructions per second for networking regional radars.

AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central

The AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central (colloq. Q7) was a computerized command and control system for Cold War ground-controlled interception used in the USAF Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense network. The largest computer system ever built, each of the 24 installed machines weighed 250 tons and had two computers. The AN/FSQ-7 used a total of 60,000 vacuum tubes (49,000 in the computers) and up to 3 megawatts of electricity, performing about 75,000 instructions per second for networking regional radars.