Royal Netherlands Air Force, Skunk Works achieve F-35 interoperability at Ramstein Flag

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNlAF) showcased the first-ever live classified data share outside the United States between an F-35 in flight and Keystone, a Dutch Command and Control (C2) environment at Ramstein Flag, Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) exercise.

In this real-time live-fly exercise, Dutch F-35s operating in an Anti-Access Area Denial environment detected, identified, and passed targeting data on multiple simulated ground effectors via Multifunction Advanced Datalink through a Skunk Works' Open Systems Gateway (OSG) into Keystone. Keystone then transmitted the data to a rocket artillery platform, which engaged a ground target and confirmed takedown, effectively closing the loop. This entire process was executed from start to finish in a matter of minutes. This is a first and significant step forward in multi-domain integration, proving F-35 interoperability between several allied nations in real time. 

Using data from an F-35, the Skunk Works OSG enables allied air and missile defense systems to receive precise targeting information, allowing them to detect, track, and defeat threats more effectively.

(article source: Lockheed Martin / editor: Anton van Rijsbergen)
(image source: Lockheed Martin)