Air Force Talon HATE program design review completed by Boeing
NewsSeptember 16, 2014
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. Boeing engineers completed the final design review for the Air Force’s Talon HATE program, which is aimed at improving communication and information sharing among various platforms. The system combines data from fighter networks, national sources, and joint command and control assets.
Transmitting over data-links, the information may then be used by joint aircraft, ships, and ground stations, to enhance communication and information sharing across the battlespace.
Boeing personnel worked with defense industry suppliers to quickly prototype the Talon HATE system for the U.S. Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities office within Air Combat Command. The Talon HATE system is built to initially be carried in a pod attached to the F-15C fighter aircraft.
“The system assimilates information in real-time from multiple domains creating an improved common operating picture for tactical awareness,” says Alex Lopez, vice president, Advanced Network & Space Systems, Phantom Works. It was designed to meet an urgent Air Force need on an accelerated timeline, he adds.
As part of the development, the Boeing team integrated the Intra Flight Data Link (IFDL) currently used on the F-22 aircraft within a proven flight communications system, called the Multifunctional Information Distribution System-JTRS (or MIDS-J). This was the first time IFDL was integrated on the MIDS-J system, which is also used on the F/A-18 aircraft. MIDS-J serves as a host for multiple concurrent communications waveforms that are necessary for Talon HATE forward operations.
Boeing officials say the company is scheduled to deliver multiple Talon HATE systems to operational squadrons next year.
