AN/TRC-97

The radio set is a mobile terminal that can transmit up to 40 miles (64 km) straight line-of-sight at up to 1 watt, using a traveling wave tube amplifier, or 96 miles (154 km) in tropospheric scatter at up to 1 kilowatt, using a tunable klystron amplifier, at a frequency range of 4.4 to 5 gigahertz and 1.2 to 2.2 gigahertz.

This was accomplished by connecting a single pair of field wires (common military phone line).

Tropospheric Scatter and Obstacle Gain Diffraction typically used the 1 kW klystron while the line-of-sight mode used the 1W Traveling Wave Tube (TWT).

It uses tunnel diodes, which utilize quantum mechanics theory, to amplify those low signals.

It is housed in a van approximately 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m), and is delicately loaded onto a M1028 pickup truck.

A trailer hauling a twin set of parabolic antennas and generator is usually pulled by the truck when it goes on its many maneuvers and deployments in support of the American defense system.

One such organization was the 601st Tactical Control Wing, headquartered in Sembach Air Base, near Kaiserslautern, Germany, which has one of the largest concentrations of Americans outside of the United States.

The 602nd Tactical Control Squadron closed in 1985, when the United States agreed to minimize their military presence in Germany.

The 5th TAC's mission was augmentation manning of SEA (Southeast Asia) radar installations.