While this rather inocuous-sounding test doesn't generate a lot of heart-pounding excitement in the airplane, the operational significance of this system can't be over-stated. Waveform? Multiples of range? What's that all about? After you take a look at the short story at the link below, consider this... Finding ground or airborne targets often uses on-board radar, but the only way stealth has any value is if the stealthy aircraft hasn't already given away its position with emissions. If I have a low-probability-of-intercept waveform, something that only shows up as a signal after a lot of processing, and I can send that signal to another aircraft that is a long way off, then the only guy who has to go anywhere near the target is the guy who has never emitted. While search radars are trying to find the guy who hit them with airborne radar, the undetected, non-emitting plane comes in from a completely different direction and cleans their clocks. This test is NOT a small deal.
http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/military/F-35-Data-Link-Completes-Flight-Test_79067.html
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