Phoenix Echo
Phoenix Echo was the codeword for a top secret plan, developed in the mid-1980s, to electronically disrupt low-flying Soviet reconnaissance satellites. The plan was to establish a number of earth stations worldwide that would track the heights and orbits of Soviet satellites that obtained real-time imagery of U. S. and allied installations and ground forces. This information would then be relayed to the J-3EW (Electronic warfare) office of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. In theory, the EW office could then order ground stations to disrupt the satellite downlinks.
Plan proves to be unworkable
Although some earth stations were established by the U. S. Air Force, the plan proved to be cumbersome and unworkable. The J-3EW section was physically separated from the National Military Command Center (NMCC), which has primary responsibility for U. S. military responses in time of crisis. Additionally, because of unnecessary secrecy surrounding Phoenix Echo, only a handful of people knew its capabilities and limitations. Often, the Phoenix Echo office was managed by a single officer (most recently a U S. Navy commander), and no one else.
Current status
Phoenix Echo was disestablished and declassified in the mid-1990s.