Using a new airborne networking system, engineers at the Boeing Co. have demonstrated the ability to send secure communications and data between fourth- and fifth-generation fighter aircraft. During a flight test at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., company experts showed they could connect an F-15C Eagle with an F-22 Raptor jet fighter via a data link enabled by a system known as the Talon Hate pod, says Paul Geery, vice president of mission solutions at Boeing's Phantom Works division in St. Louis. "Right now in the current system, there's limited ability to communicate between those two aircraft with data," he says. With the Talon Hate pods, the aircraft can share real-time updated information via communication links for a robust operating picture.
