Project Riot: U.S. Air Force Successfully Connected an F-35 Fighter Jet With a U-2 Spy Plane

Project Riot: U.S. Air Force Successfully Connected an F-35 Fighter Jet With a U-2 Spy Plane
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, the Missile Defense Agency, and the U.S. Air Force successfully connected an F-35, U-2 and a multi-domain ground station in a ground-breaking test demonstrating multi-domain operations and the secure distribution of sensitive information across multiple platforms.

Lockheed characterised the test as a “ground-breaking” demonstration of “multi-domain operations and the secure distribution of sensitive information across multiple platforms.”

This test showed the “next-level” of connectivity intended to reduce the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, according to the release.

The demonstration also leveraged the F-35 sensor data for use in missile defence, the release added.

“During the demonstration, called Project Riot, an F-35 detected a long-range missile launch with its onboard sensors and shared the information through the U-2 to the air defence commander on the ground, enabling the commander to quickly make the decision to target the threat,” the release said.

This connectivity reduces the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds.

Lockheed characterized the test as a “ground-breaking” demonstration of “multi-domain operations and the secure distribution of sensitive information across multiple platforms.”

This test showed the “next-level” of connectivity intended to reduce the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, according to the release.

The demonstration also leveraged the F-35 sensor data for use in missile defence, the release added.

In partnership with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and the Missile Defense Agency, Skunk Works’ Project Riot builds on a series of open systems architecture demonstrations proving how incremental increases in capability can be rapidly fielded to enable a connected network across air, ground, sea, space, and cyber domains.

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