{"id":11192,"date":"2014-10-26T08:27:15","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T12:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=11192"},"modified":"2014-10-26T08:27:15","modified_gmt":"2014-10-26T12:27:15","slug":"tearing-down-an-elephant-cage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/tearing-down-an-elephant-cage\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearing down an Elephant Cage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB\"<\/a>This past week, I posted a couple of articles about\u00a0Wullenweber\u00a0antennas<\/a> (a.k.a. “Elephant Cages”). Many thanks to Andrea Borgnino<\/a> who shares this article by Joseph Trevithick
\nvia Medium.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The U.S. Air Force Is Tearing Down a Giant Spy Antenna: \u2019Elephant cages\u2019 are a dying breed<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

On Oct. 15, workers began removing the antenna\u2014designated AN\/FLR-9\u2014at Misawa air base in Japan. The demolition has been on the flying branch\u2019s agenda for more than a year now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology and fiscal constraints have driven Misawa Security Operations Center to seek new ways of doing business,\u201d Col. Joseph Winters told Air Force reporters. The antenna\u2014which is almost 1,500 feet wide\u2014should be completely gone by the end of 2015.<\/p>\n

Misawa\u2019s 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 \u201celephant cage\u201d nickname.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue reading on Medium.com…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past week, I posted a couple of articles about\u00a0Wullenweber\u00a0antennas (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: \u2019Elephant cages\u2019 are a dying breed The U.S. Air Force has started tearing down a massive antenna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,288,43],"tags":[3338,752,3067,3335,3336,3337],"class_list":["post-11192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-circular-receiving-antennas","tag-cold-war","tag-cold-war-radio","tag-elephant-cages","tag-wullenweber","tag-wullenweber-antennas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2Uw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11143,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/uncovering-the-wullenweber-elephant-cages\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":0},"title":"Uncovering Wullenweber’s “Elephant Cages”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Patalon, for sharing this article via Gizmodo: In the early days of electronic espionage, the US intelligence community didn't have the benefit of all-seeing spy satellites\u2014it had to intercept and interpret high-frequency radio waves transmitted by the Soviet Union. To do so, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/800px-CDAA_Elmendorf_AFB.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11213,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/san-diego-elephant-cage-scheduled-for-demolition\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":1},"title":"San Diego Elephant Cage scheduled for demolition","author":"Thomas","date":"October 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"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:\u00a0Cold War-era structure a visual landmark on Silver Strand Beachgoers will say goodbye this month to the \u201celephant cage\u201d -- the mysterious metal structure that has graced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SanDiego","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/SanDiego.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/SanDiego.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/SanDiego.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24871,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/paul-remembers-the-flr-9-elephant-cage-in-misawa-japan\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":2},"title":"Paul remembers the FLR-9 “Elephant Cage” in Misawa Japan","author":"Thomas","date":"April 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul, who writes: I was a morse intercept operator in the USAF in the late 1960s. I have a nice picture of a FLR-9 at Misawa Japan (now gone I think): I was at Misawa from 68-70 in the USAF Security Service. I copied\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Copy-of-Miisawa-1-e1490707808454.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11167,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/mike-recalls-visiting-the-original-wullenweber-test-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":3},"title":"Mike recalls visiting the original Wullenweber test site","author":"Thomas","date":"October 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to our post Uncovering Wullenweber\u2019s \u201cElephant Cages,\u201d Mike comments: Sometime back around 2005-2009, I was doing maintenance on a NOAA climate station near Bondville, IL, and noticed several tall utility poles in the distance. As I figured they looked suspiciously like an antenna array, I asked the site\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illinois","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Illinois.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47651,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/the-last-elephant-cage-is-a-fascinating-nsa-documentary-about-the-monolithic-flr-9-antenna-system\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":4},"title":"“The Last Elephant Cage” is a fascinating NSA documentary about the monolithic FLR-9 antenna system","author":"Thomas","date":"February 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino (IW0HK), who shares the following video--a 15 minute NSA documentary--about the FLR-9 \"Elephant Cage\" antenna in Anchorage, Alaska. https:\/\/youtu.be\/uh88Y2_33GI Click here to view on YouTube.","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FLR-9-Elephant-cage.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33941,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/shortwave-antenna-options-for-apartments-flats-and-condos\/","url_meta":{"origin":11192,"position":5},"title":"Shortwave antenna options for apartments, flats and condos","author":"Thomas","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tim, who writes: I am a regular subscriber here, but until now have not formally commented. I've been an avid SWL since 1977. I am intrigued by your in-depth article on understanding and setting up SDR's. But, what about an antenna? How well will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by jay blacks on Unsplash","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/apartment-urban-hotel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/apartment-urban-hotel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/apartment-urban-hotel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/apartment-urban-hotel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}