Get Ready, Russia and China: The F-35 Stealth Fighter Is Testing Out Its Most Important Capability
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And it could help lift "the fog of war."
Dave Majumdar [2]
Pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., are testing the ability of groups of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to accurately pass data amongst themselves during combat operations against advanced enemy surface-to-air missiles (SAM) defenses.
During the tests—which are being flown under the auspices of the 461st Flight Test Squadron—groups of between four and six F-35 of all three variants are using the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) to share their data between different flight groups. Proving out the MADL datalink—which uses phased array antennas to reduce the probability that its highly directional signals can be intercepted—is particular important for the F-35’s concept of operations, which is designed around its sensor suite and information systems.
Source URL (retrieved on December 10, 2016):
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/get-ready-russia-china-the-f-35-stealth-fighter-testing-out-18684
