SSC Pacific (SPAWAR, by the way, is short for Space and Naval Warfare) was looking for a way to reduce the antenna loads on those huge mast arrays you see on most naval warships (the typical vessel has 80 antennae aboard). Aside from the fact that antennas can interfere with each other, piling all that metal that high can increase the ships odds of being picked up on radar. Moreover, not all antennas are needed all the time, so SSC Pacific sought a way to erect a quick, temporary antenna that could just as easily be dismantled.