The 412th Operations Group at Edwards AFB, Calif., recently staged a live-fly exercise to connect pilots with US-wide datalink networks, testing pilot skills for the first time in a simulated net-centric war. The goal was to track and kill targets quickly while testing out a 24/7 data network. Actual aircraft—F-16s and F-22s—participated with simulated players from Port Loma, Calif., to Patuxent River, Md., all under Joint Operability Test command and control at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. “It was the first time we have successfully tested net-centric operations using multiple [types of aircraft] in a large force exercise with both live and virtual players,” said Maj. Gregory Wood, 416th Flight Test Squadron pilot at Edwards.
A second B-52H Stratofortress is now being modified with a upgraded radar for testing after the first test bomber crashed in June, and work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, officials said July 27.