Lockheed Martin and the Royal Air Force (RAF) have conducted a claimed world-first test during which live data was relayed from an F-35 stealth fighter airborne in the USA to a UK-developed command and control (C2) system on the other side of the Atlantic.
During the Project DEIMOS activity, classified data from an F-35 operating from Lockheed’s Fort Worth site in Texas was “shared via a Skunk Works open systems gateway through commercial satellite communications and into an RAF RCO [Rapid Capabilities Office] lab in Farnborough, the UK, where it was ingested into the Nexus C2 system”.
“Project DEIMOS was a hugely successful UK/US trial which clearly demonstrated the ability to take data from a live F-35 and pass this to the RAF’s Nexus platform for exploitation,” says RCO head Air Commodore Chris Melville. “This represents a key step forward towards both a future integrated battlespace and air command and control environment,” he adds.
Melville describes the process as having “proven how collaborative working with key industry partners can quickly and efficiently drive both innovation and future capability”.
“This exercise marks a breakthrough in multi-domain operations, demonstrating the F-35’s ability to share classified data via an open systems gateway with our international partners,” says John Clark, general manager of Lockheed’s Skunk Works unit.
“Collaborations like this allow us to deliver advanced capabilities quickly to meet urgent needs in an increasingly complicated global threat environment,” he adds.
The UK has previously described its sovereign Nexus C2 technology – which can “take any [data] product of any format and can patch them together” – as also being compatible with US Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, further boosting interoperability.
