Link 16 To Tie Legacy Platforms To SDA Satellites

Breaking Defence, by THERESA HITCHENS on September 01, 2020

Future satellite vendors will need to „show you can plug your WiFi into our WiFi and get a signal,“ says Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear.

Theresa Hitchens

WASHINGTON: The venerable Link 16 tactical data network, used by the US and NATO allies, will serve as a key channel for the Space Development Agency’s transport layer satellites being designed as the communications backbone for future all-domain operations.

Link 16 will allow the new satellites to connect with “fighter aircraft like F-16, F-22, and F-35, missile defense networks like PAC-3 and THAAD, weapons systems, and Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) networks,” says a Lockheed Martin press release today.