spartans_in_darkness

OGA
ES//8I) In June 1963, the ASAbegan testing a
new aircraft, the Army's twin-engine L-23
Seminole, equipped with the AN/ARD-15 D/F
equipment. The aircraft itself had several obvious
advantages over the Beaver, foremost being the
greater speed and range of twin engines. The L-23
also had better navigational equipment, which
allowed for all-weather operations. The
ANIARD-15 had been improved to the point
where it offered sharper nulls and a better determination
of the median null. The overall accuracy
of the L-23 suite was figured to be twice that of
the Beaver's.F
fIS//SI) Within the year, the army's ARDF
program transferred to the Operations section of
the 3rd RRU, where it was integrated with special
identification techniques (SIT) and the
Whitebirch MRDF network." By the beginning
of 1964, the 3rd RRU Aviation Section had grown
to five aircraft with fourteen pilots, crew and
maintenance personnel. However, the continued
growth and success of the ARDF program would
lead to friction between the regular military,
which saw the system as integral to its combat
planning, and the cryptologic community,
notably NSA, which held ARDF as an adjunct to
SIGINT operations. The struggle for control of
ARDF assets would remain a sore point between
NSA and the JCS and would highlight the struggle
over SIGINT assets in Vietnam."
ANTENNA
ANTENNAS
(V) L-23 Seminole ARDF 'lirct