Cudjoe Key is in Monroe County, Florida, on an island in the lower Florida Keys. It was originally called Littleton Island.
The United States Army activated Cudjoe Key Air Force Station in 1959 to track missiles traveling through the Eglin Gulf Test Range. The Air Force took over operations the following year,and it subsequently became a detached installation of Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base. The station flies a white radar aerostat, known locally as "Fat Albert", which is used for drug interdiction missions by the Drug Enforcement Administration. On April 20, 2007 a Cessna 182 crashed after its left wing struck the tether anchoring "Fat Albert" in the restricted area that contains the balloon on a cable that extends to 14,000 [feet].
Cudjoe Key is located at U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the key at approximately mile markers 20.5 – 23, between Summerland Key and Sugarloaf Key.
