Construction of the station site started in the latter part of 1951. The station was officially opened as No. 209 Radio Station Falconbridge on August 12, 1952 and was re-designated the following month as No. 33 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (33 AC&W Sqn.). As a Ground Control Interceptor (GCI) site within Air Defence Command, RCAF Station Falconbridges operational role involved detecting and identifying airborne intruders within its assigned area of responsibility and then guiding interceptors onto their target. With the advent of North American Air Defence (NORAD) Command and incorporation of the Semi-Automated Ground Environment (SAGE) system in the early sixties, RCAF Station Falconbridge lost its capability as a GCI. It shortly thereafter became a Long Range Radar (LRR) site and has continued in this role to date. On 15 February, 1965 the station was re-designated Canadian Forces Station Falconbridge.
In August 1976 a noteworthy dimension was added to the stations role. A detachment of the Air Weapons Control and Countermeasures School was established here and assigned the task of providing basic level and advanced instruction to the Air Defence Technician trade.
Today CFS Falconbridge continues to perform its vital function within the NORAD network, and its training responsibilities follow a close second in priority. In addition to these primary roles, the station supports Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre located in Sudbury. This centre is responsible for an area of 300,000 square miles and is one of the busiest such units in Canada. The station also supports a Reserve Support Staff located in Sudbury and, provides administrative and logistical support to a considerable number of Cadet Corps located in the area, including the CIL Officers school which trains all CIL officers in Northern Ontario.
CFS Falconbridge is located within the boundaries of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury. It is located within a few minutes drive from the Sudbury Airport and, twenty minutes drive from city centre.
The detail for this article was provided by Paul Ozorak in May 1998