A successful, first-time in-flight "talk" was accomplished between F-35s and an F-22 during a recent flight test. Known as Project Hydra, this initiative was conducted jointly by the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin and the Missile Defense Agency. They used a U-2 spyplane to establish a connection between the fifth generation jets which then exchanged data between themselves freely in flight and with nodes on the ground. The main takeaway: The capability is expected to add flexibility to aerial missions involving these two types of aircraft to accelerate their decision-making in real-time combat. (Read more...)