{"id":20820,"date":"2020-10-12T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/12\/how-the-us-army-integrated-a-marine-f-35-jet-into-its-tactical-network\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:15:01","slug":"how-the-us-army-integrated-a-marine-f-35-jet-into-its-tactical-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/it-networks-battlefield-tech\/2020\/10\/12\/how-the-us-army-integrated-a-marine-f-35-jet-into-its-tactical-network\/","title":{"rendered":"How the US Army integrated a Marine F-35 jet into its tactical network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. \u2014 During a recent U.S. Army exercise, the service was able to link a Marine Corps F-35B into its developmental networks, enabling the jet to both receive targeting data from satellites and send it to ground-based shooters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only did that connection show the flexibility of the Army\u2019s evolving tactical network, but it demonstrated the success the armed services can have as they connect different platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some cases \u2014 I\u2019m hesitant to use the word but I\u2019ll use it \u2014 I think in some cases it was unprecedented,” said Willie Nelson, director of Army Futures Command\u2019s Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross-Functional Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The connection occurred during Project Convergence, a massive Army exercise at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona,<\/a> that wrapped up at the end of September. During the so-called campaign of learning, the Army put its most cutting-edge technology to the test. It connected sensors from multiple domains to various fires capabilities, fused data and cut down the sensor-to-shooter timeline from 20 minutes to 20 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army clearly had big plans for Project Convergence, though none of them involved F-35s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But location can be everything. Over the course of the exercises, the Marine Corps offered the Army an F-35 to borrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause we\u2019re in Yuma, right across the highway is the Marine Corps air base with many, many F-35s,\u201d explained Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, who oversaw Project Convergence. \u201cDue to the incredible relationships that were developed, the Marines provided F-35 time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy I was a Yuma fan and pushed for it is the opportunities that exist,\u201d Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said, referencing the use of the F-35B during Project Convergence. \u201cAnd they worked it out over a handshake. Once that F-35 is airborne, it\u2019s over the target. It\u2019s right across the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson\u2019s sensor-to-shooter team adapted to the opportunity. That team was at the heart of what Project Convergence was all about \u2014 connecting any sensor in any domain to the best possible shooter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd at the time the sensor-to-shooter team was up and operating, we had the emitters on and we were working back and forth. You know, every time we just felt that we were running the test,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cWhen the F-35B came on, there was a discussion of how could we work together in real time in the middle of that exercise and kind of put what we were doing down and do some direct support and targeting with that airframe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Kestrel Eye is a small, low-cost, visible-imagery satellite prototype designed to provide near-real-time images to the tactical-level ground Soldier. Kestrel Eye was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as a payload aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 14, 2017 (Photo courtesy of SMDTC).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Connecting capabilities<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Project Convergence, the Army demonstrated it could use targeting data from an F-35\u2032s sensors to deliver ground-based fires. The service also used on-orbit sensors and artificial intelligence capabilities to synthesize targeting data<\/a>, then provide it to the F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensor fusion \u2014 the ability to take data from the F-35\u2032s sensors and radar and combine it with information from other F-35s \u2014 is considered one of the hallmarks of fifth-generation fighters, and a strength of the Lockheed Martin-made Joint Strike Fighter in particular. However, the U.S. military has only begun to experiment with using the F-35 to sync data among multiple platforms owned and operated by different services.<\/p>\n\n\n\t