Air Force Software Turns Warplanes Into Wireless Routers in the Sky
A software upgrade called Net-T effectively turns U.S. military aircraft into giant airborne wireless routers, allowing ground forces to share information with each other and with their allies overhead.
According to an official announcement, the Net-T (or network tactical) software, which has just completed testing with the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, is an upgrade that can be applied to the LITENING and Sniper targeting systems - pods full of advanced cameras, sensors and communications equipment that can be carried by numerous U.S. Air Force planes.
What Net-T provides, the Air Force said, is the ability for ground forces to share data with each other via the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver 5 system, a small tablet that can be carried by troops in the field. Previously, ROVER-5 only allowed communication directly between troops on the ground and aircraft.
Using Net-T, commanders on the ground can share video data, map coordinates and a host of other information types without the use of traditional satellite or radio communication.
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http://m.cio.com/article/727252/Air_Force_Software_Turns_Warplanes_Into_Wireless_Routers_in_the_Sky