On the topic of Wullenweber antennas, SWLing Post reader, Mike, points to this article on U-T San Diego’s website:

Navy’s mysterious ‘elephant cage’ retired: Cold War-era structure a visual landmark on Silver Strand

Beachgoers will say goodbye this month to the “elephant cage” — the mysterious metal structure that has graced the south end of the Silver Strand for 50 years.

The Navy will demolish the circular cage-like contraption as part of an initiative to get rid of obsolete gear.

Officially known as the Wullenweber Antenna Array, the 1,300-foot-diameter structure was built in 1964.

Many details are shrouded in Cold War-era secrecy, Navy officials say.

[…]In simple terms, the huge circular antenna was used to intercept radio signals and detect which direction they came from.

With a range up to 3,200 nautical miles, the Silver Strand antenna likely monitored the Pacific Ocean and parts of Central and South America.

U.S. allies around the world also housed “elephant cages” during the Cold War.

One was located in the United Kingdom, to intercept signals originating from Warsaw Pact nations in Eastern Europe as well as portions of the former Soviet Union.

Another array, located in San Vito dei Norrnanni Air Station. ltaly, opened in 1960 to monitor areas of the Middle East.

Others were built in West Germany, the Philippines, Japan and Canada.

In order to preserve history, the Navy plans to keep the five tallest screens plus some guy wires and anchorage posts. It is also working on a digital 3-D model of the antenna.

Read the full article at U-T San Diego…

This past week, I posted a couple of articles about Wullenweber antennas (a.k.a. “Elephant Cages”). Many thanks to Andrea Borgnino who shares this article by Joseph Trevithick
via Medium.com:

The U.S. Air Force Is Tearing Down a Giant Spy Antenna: ’Elephant cages’ are a dying breed

The U.S. Air Force has started tearing down a massive antenna in Japan. Once used to scan airwaves around the world, these systems have become obsolete as countries change how they communicate.

On Oct. 15, workers began removing the antenna—designated AN/FLR-9—at Misawa air base in Japan. The demolition has been on the flying branch’s agenda for more than a year now.

“Technology and fiscal constraints have driven Misawa Security Operations Center to seek new ways of doing business,” Col. Joseph Winters told Air Force reporters. The antenna—which is almost 1,500 feet wide—should be completely gone by the end of 2015.

Misawa’s system was one of eight AN/FLR-9s the Pentagon built in the United States, Europe and the Pacific during the 1960s. The site actually has three concentric rings of smaller antennae, hence the popular “elephant cage” nickname.

Continue reading on Medium.com…