How to Unite NATO Battlefield Information

Written by Dabney B. on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

In the famous science fiction novel Ender’s Game, the inhabitants of earth fight against a race of aliens that act in perfect synchronicity. Each ship in the alien fleet thinks and acts with one mind; once one ship is aware of a threat, every other ship in the fleet is aware of it. This is a common trope in science-fiction, typically referred to as a “hivemind.”

Once again, the US military is blurring the border between reality and science fiction by bringing the allied forces of the world one step closer to operating in a harmonious hivemind-like network.

US and Turkish forces both use a communication network known as Link 16, which shares information in real time with everyone connected. In layman’s terms, it’s a bit like cloud computing. When one component of a network makes an information update, all other computers are the system gain the same update. Together, each of the pieces of Link 16 create a complete image of the battlefield. Rather order valium without rx than relying on slow communication channels to transmit information, every commander has constant, real-time updates.

Until recently, the US and Turkey have been running their Link 16 systems independently. On March 13, these two nations successfully synchronized their system to create a more complete image of global forces.

Now, when a Turkish jet flying over the Turkey-Syria border accelerates, Air Force officials thousands of miles away in the US can immediately become aware of this change.

The marriage of these two systems represents an enormous step forward in US strength. Not only does it provide the US with a much more accurate and up-to-date picture of global forces, but it also strengthens the harmony between the US and Turkey.

Hopefully, other NATO nations will follow suit and unite their information networks with the US. Sharing our battlefield data with other NATO allies, such as the England, France, and Portugal, will allow each member of information alliance bring our allied strength to even higher levels.

If you want advice about the world of military aviation, there’s no better people to turn to than men and women who have sat in the cockpit and flown some of the world’s most advanced aircraft. With over 50 current and ex-warfighters on call, Strike Fighter Consulting Inc. can give you access to up-to-date, first-hand technical and tactical expertise.