Page 74 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

74 AIRPOWER
NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
mation with RAAF assets or vice versa using Link 16. Depending on who you talk to, this either due to US ex- port regulations or a lack of desire on the part of individual users to share information using Link 16 during exercises.
Going forward, the improved networking in the Lock- heed-Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter offers improved networking capability – via its fleet-wide, secure Multifunction Advanced Datalink (MADL). The datalink, which further improves on the security and jam resistance of Link 16, also enables the real-time sharing of targeting data between aircraft in warfare.
COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT CAPABILITY
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is another potential area where Australia and Japan can potentially work together. CEC is a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that combines data from multiple battle force air search sensors on CEC-equipped units into a single, real-time, composite track picture, enhanc- ing the capability of the fleet.
This allows targets detected by one ship, and potentially those detected by aircraft like the F-35, to be identified by another ship and engaged with long-range missiles with- out that vessel having to use its own sensors.
This potentially means a shorter sensor-to-shooter loop for the ship doing the shooting, and allows for targets to be engaged from longer ranges and from an unexpected direction (as the shooter will not be emitting with its own sensors). This enables a whole fleet to intercept threats like high-speed cruise missiles once a single ship has de- tected them.
The key improvement of CEC over the Link 11 or Link 16 datalink-based network previously is that it is no longer constrained by the latency inherent in the latter, which has often meant reliable fire control solutions could not be developed when sensor data is shared via datalink.
CEC uses an organic “sensor-agnostic” network which shares raw data, not tracks, and builds a composite track from a number of airborne and surface sensors. Any vessel or aircraft that has a CEC capability is able to become a
ABOVE: RAAF and JASDF fighters on the flightline at Chitose Air Base Japan during Exercise Bushido Guardian 19.
“IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT AUSTRALIA CAN STILL BE SEEN POLITICALLY AS AN OUTSIDER BY SOME IN THE REGION”
It essentially provides yet an- other opportunity for allied and partner nations to take coopera- tion one step further, giving mul- tinational F-35s an opportunity to conduct synchronised operations. It is designed to achieve the much sought-after goal of sharing threat data and helping find and destroy
enemy targets from ranges where the F-35 remains undetect- ed, when operated in conjunction with other F-35 sensors.
It will enable global F-35 users to take networked op- erations one step further during future coalition opera- tions given Japan, Singapore and South Korea are also operating – or are due to operate – the F-35 alongside US forces in the region.
The ability of their platforms and systems to be net- worked is an opportunity to build closer ties with these nations, particularly that of Japan, which is probably the closest peer fighting force to Australia – and the wariest of China’s rise.
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