Update: Lockheed Martin, Pentagon establish bi-directional communications between fifth-generation aircraft, ground units
11 May 2021
by Pat Host
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and the Pentagon for the first time established bi-directional communications between fifth-generation aircraft in flight while also sharing operational and sensor data to ground forces during a recent test, according to a company statement on 3 May.
This flight test, named Project Hydra, linked a Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, five Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), and a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor in the air and provided real-time fifth-generation data to operators on the ground. The flight test leveraged an Open Systems Gateway (OSG) payload aboard the U-2 to connect the F-22 to the five F-35As via the native Intra-Flight Data Link (IFDL) and the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL). The target tracks were also transmitted by, and through,
By
Theresa Hitchens on May 07, 2021 at 12:45 PM
Lockheed Martin’s Project Hydra
WASHINGTON: Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has demonstrated a capability for F-22 and F-35 fighter jets to share situational awareness data
in flight via a U-2 spy plane kitted out with the company’s ‘translation’ software, says Dan Markham, Skunk Works director of JADO/BMC2. Lockheed also transmitted data from the F-35 to a ground station using a Navy datalink, TTNT, and then on from there to an Army network, IBCS.
“This is really the first time that all three of those live platforms in the air were connected,” he said in an interview yesterday.
Air Force U-2 Spy Plane Can Send Target Data to F-22s and F-35s
This real-time capability will make U.S. warplanes into a faster and more deadly force with quicker reaction times.
Imagine a scenario where a U-2 spy plane were flying at unparalleled high altitudes and, as part of its mission, wound up spotting a group of enemy fighter jets or even a mechanized armored vehicle ground column. Just how fast could that spy plane get targeting information to fifth-generation fighter jets or ground commanders in position to attack? In this kind of circumstance, target coordinates, mapping, speed and anticipated time of impending attack data would need to be immediately sent to F-22 or F-35 stealth jet fighters, ground-based air defense locations and even advancing infantry formations.
Ever since the F-22 was introduced in 2005, it's been recognized as one of the most capable fighter planes in the world. However, it isn't very good at directly sharing data with anything other than other F-22s. Project Hydra is changing that.
F-22 and F-35 Aircraft Finally Talk Stealth to Each Other, U-2 Spy Plane Helps 4 May 2021, 8:47 UTC ·
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The latest flight test, dubbed Project Hydra, used an Open Systems Gateway (OSG) payload aboard the U-2 to link an F-22 to five F-35s through an Intra-Flight Data Link (IFDL) and a Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL). The demonstration made it possible to exchange data in free flight between all aircraft and ground nodes.
The Airforce has been trying over the years to develop a new technology that could make this type of communication possible. Up until recently, the F-22 couldn t transmit stealthy data to any aircraft besides other F-22s. The F-35s also couldn t communicate with the F-22s except at the voice level. All because each aircraft used different Low Probability of Interception (LPD/LPI) communications.