F-35s from the Royal Netherlands Air Force successfully struck a ground target thanks to a classified piece of American data transfer equipment.
The strike, carried out during Ramstein Flag, a NATO exercise earlier this month, leveraged a Dutch command-and-control system. The event marked the first time the equipment had been used outside the United States.
Two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lighting IIs fly in formation with two ROKAF F-35As during Freedom Shield 25, a defense-oriented exercise featuring live, virtual, and field-based training, March 13, 2025. The aircraft participated in dynamic targeting and aerial refueling training, validating the capability of ROK and U.S. Air Forces, to find, fix, and defeat a range of threats. (Photo courtesy of Republic of Korea Air Force)
The F-35: Land-Attack Warrior?
“In this real-time live fly exercise, Dutch F-35s operating in an Anti-Access Area Denial environment, successfully 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,” Lockheed Martin explained in a release covering the event.
It added that “Keystone then transmitted the data to a rocket artillery platform which engaged a ground target and confirmed successful takedown, effectively closing the loop. This entire process was executed from start to finish in a matter of minutes. This is a first, and a significant step forward in multi-domain integration, proving F-35 interoperability between several allied nations in real time.”
This is apparently an iteration of Lockheed Martin’s Project Missouri, which began in 2013 and aimed to facilitate data transfer between the F-22 and the F-35.
Ramstein Flag saw fifteen NATO ally countries operate in conjunction with each other’s personnel and aircraft in what the U.S. Air Force called a “realistic, high-pressure” training environment. One of the highlights of the exercise saw Dutch and American F-35 stealth fighters serviced and refueled by each other’s aircrews.
The Dutch success in transferring important real-time information comes on the heels of a similar demonstration between an American F-35 and a British command and control system. During that “real-time live fly demonstration,” called Project DEIMOS, “an F-35 flying from Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas, shared classified data via a Skunk Works’ Open Systems Gateway (OSG) through commercial satellite communications and into an RAF RCO lab in Farnborough, UK, where it was ingested into the Nexus C2 system. This achievement marks a significant step forward in multi-domain integration, enabling F-35 interoperability in real-time with a non-U.S. C2 system.”
Capt. Andrew “Dojo” Olson, F-35 Demo Team pilot and commander performs aerial maneuvers during the Aero Gatineau-Ottawa Airshow in Quebec, Canada, Sept. 7, 2019. The team consists of 10 Airmen who help showcase the world’s most technologically advanced fifth-generation fighter jet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Cook)
Data Transfer: A Shift
Though data transfer from a stealth aircraft to another stealth aircraft, like what Project Missouri facilitates, or from a stealth jet to forces on the ground, may seem like a no-brainer, it actually is a significant break from how stealth aircraft were envisioned to work during their genesis during the Cold War.
Then, communications between stealth aircraft were extremely limited, if not zero. By maintaining radio silence and not communicating with forces on the ground, command and control assets, or other communication nodes, these early stealth jets attempted to preserve their low observability.
When American F-117 Nighthawks first flew in combat during Operation Allied Force against the Yugoslav Army, pilots essentially flew with the most up-to-date information available when they jumped inside their cockpits. This made updating targeting data or the position of enemy or friendly forces difficult. But data—and radio silence—is changing.
“By unlocking the vast amount of 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,” Lockheed Martin explained in their statement covering the data transfer with the Dutch. “This enhanced situational awareness, and interoperability empowers joint forces to respond more quickly and decisively, ultimately strengthening collective defense of partners and allies.”
F-35 Fighter.
Lockheed Martin’s Multifunction Advanced Datalink is similar to Link 16, a jam-resistant high-speed data link connected to multiple military platforms, including aircraft, ships, and ground elements. It facilitates the sharing of tactical information, inducing target data and positions. While it has excelled in coordinating large amounts of data across multiple domains and among many forces within NATO, the technology was initially developed in the 1970s and 1980s and has grown somewhat long in the tooth.
Northrop Grumman developed the Multifunction Advanced Datalink; however, it was specifically for stealth aircraft like the F-35. It uses high-frequency, low-probability-of-intercept signals that reduce the chance of detection. Thanks to Link 16, it also has a much greater bandwidth, which can be leveraged to create much more detailed operational pictures. And, unlike Link 16, it does not use open broadcasts to transmit data but instead uses point-to-point directional antennas.
What Happens Now?
So, while there is still a place for the older Link 16 data transfer system, particularly among and between NATO allies, the stealthy nature of the Multifunction Advanced Datalink helps preserve stealth signatures for jets like the F-35. With the recent coordination between the Dutch and the British, aircraft like the F-35 seem increasingly difficult to detect.
F-35 Elephant Walk. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
