Nike Battery NY-79/80 was constructed near the borders of Morris and Essex Counties during 1954-1955. The control area was located atop Riker Hill in Livingston in order to obtain good radar coverage of the region. The launcher area was constructed about two miles away, on a portion of the former Matarazzo farm in East Hanover.

This double Nike site was operational with both Ajax and Hercules missiles. Regular Army units left during 1963, when the New Jersey Army National Guard took control of the base. Nike Battery NY-79/80 remained operational until the inactivation of the nationwide Nike air defense system in 1974.

	Location Launcher Area: East Hanover (Morris County), NJ Control Area: Riker Hill, Livingston (Essex County), NJ Dates of Operation 1955-1974 Weapons Systems & Missile Load Nike Ajax / 60 Nike Hercules / 18 (3 magazines converted) Missile Magazines 6 Magazines (double site). 2 type "B" and 4 type "C".		Radar Types ACQR, LOPAR, ABAR, HIPAR Unit Information Army - C/483rd (1955-1958) C/2/65th (1958-1960) C/5/7th (1960-1963) National Guard - HHB 7/112th (1963-1971) B/7/112th (1963-1971) HHB 1/254th (1971-1974) B/1/254th (1971-1974) Present Status Although the East Hanover Launcher Area was mostly demolished, the Control Area atop Riker Hill in nearby Livingston remains partially intact. Here, a number of the Army's original barracks and other buildings have been adapted to serve as studios for local artists. The former Family Housing Area adjacent to the demolished East Hanover Launcher Area remained mostly intact through the spring of 2004 when its 32 abandoned homes and the last of its two original barracks were demolished to make room for a housing development. Article Read the article, Air Defenders of Morris County by Donald E. Bender (1997).