Effects of debris on buried UHF antenna performance

Flight tests were conducted to establish the effect of debris on the performance of the buried UHF antenna installed at LF09. Measurements for debris depths of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 ft were evaluated. The results are not consistent, but the 16.0dB added loss for a 5 ft debris depth appears reasonable based on the measured debris dielectric constant and loss taugent of 5.0 and 0.1, respectively.