Home»History and Legacy»Timeline»1966-1967: Taking the Offensive»Sensor-Oriented Anti-Infiltration Program Begins

Sensor-Oriented Anti-Infiltration Program Begins

November 1, 1967 - December 31, 1967

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A schematic of an Acoustic and Seismic Intrusion Detector, which transmits sound from a built-in microphone. (National Museum of the U.S. Air Force)

The anti-infiltration program later codenamed IGLOO WHITE begins. It is a joint Department of Defense-Air Force covert operation. The program uses electronic sensors and computer analysis to detect and identify enemy troops and convoys moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Its sensor system works in concert with the anti-infiltration obstacle system in South Vietnam known as the “McNamara Line.”

Most of the program’s air-dropped sensors are designed to detect sound and vibrations. They are placed along enemy infiltration routes, primarily on the Ho Chi Minh Trail itself. Loitering aircraft receive sensor data and transmit it to the Infiltration Surveillance Center at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. Surveillance center personnel use advanced IBM computers to process and analyze the data. They then request air strikes on targets as required.1

1Jacob Van Staaveren, Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1960–1968, The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia (Washington, D.C.: Center for Air Force History, 1993), 181, 255, 259–61, 267–71, 276–79, 281; Carl Berger, ed., The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973 (Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1977), 109, 213; Marilyn B. Young and Robert Buzzanco, A Companion to the Vietnam War (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2002).