Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) first entered service in 1983.  The Rome Air Development Center can trace its origins back to 1942, World War Two, when it was first used to test bomb sights for bombers.

Rome Air Development Center-Newport Measurement Facility (New York), aka Rome Laboratory, aka USAF Super Lab, aka Newport Research Site-Griffiss Institute, aka Griffiss Air Force Base.

During Spring 1985, when the Cold War was still hot, the U.S. Air Force “directed the development of technical
and functional information systems architectures to
guide development and integration of information systems” for the future Tactical Air Control System (TACS).  This included mounting such systems on ground vehicles.

These images appear to be recent.  There is almost no information about the pole dancing HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), but a Fiscal Year 2022 publication states it is for the SatCom (Satellite Communications) “High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle mounted Ka-Band Comm-on-the-move Terminal….. for United States Special Operations Command.”

The elaborate ‘Newport Antenna Measurement Facility’ uses several different height, 3-axis position, towers.  The site tests new radars, electronic jamming and the effectiveness of experimental electronic countermeasures.  Specifically, the size and shape of a vehicle directly affects electronic signals.

The ultimate antenna topper!

Cold War & Beyond: F-15A POLE DANCER, OR WHATEVER HAPPENED TO 72-0113?