The USAF identified the potential for using airborne platforms to intercept line-of-sight VHF communications during the Korean War. In April, 1952, a test mission of the first Airborne Reconnaissance Program (ARP) on a converted B-29 took place. The Airborne Communications Reconnaissance Program (ACRP) was initiated in 1955, engaging in flights collecting Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) along the coasts of China, North Korea, and the Soviet Far East.
