Final design review completed on info-sharing system

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A final design review has been completed by Boeing on a U.S. Air Force program for information sharing and improved communications.

The program is called Talon HATE, which combines information from fighter networks, national sources and joint command-and-control assets.

The information is transmitted over data links.

The Talon HATE system is designed to initially be carried in a pod attached to Boeing's F-15C fighter aircraft.

Boeing said it rapidly prototyped the system for the U.S. Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities office within the Air Force's Air Combat Command. The intra-flight data link used on F-22 aircraft and F/A-18 aircraft was integrated within a proven flight communications system -- the Multifunctional Information Distribution System-JTRS, or MIDS-J, for hosting concurrent communications waveforms.

The result: a system that assimilates information in real time from multiple domains to create an improved common operating picture for tactical awareness.

"The Boeing team demonstrated communications interoperability between the platforms using these systems during the final design review," said Sean Rice, program director, Boeing Talon HATE and Derivatives. "The feedback and advice gained from pilots, operators and support teams seeking to improve this prototype was vital to this success."

Several Talon HATE systems are to be delivered to operational squadrons next year.