Project Deimos sees F-35 demonstrate first classified data-share to non-US C2 system

A file photo of an F-35. Project Deimos has seen an F-35 flying in the US transfer classified data to the UK's Nexus combat cloud. This was the first such transfer to a non-US command and control system. (Commonwealth of Australia)

A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has conducted a live-fly demonstration of the transfer of data between the United States and a non-US command-and-control (C2) system for the first time under the auspices of Project Deimos.

Announced on 4 December, the demonstration by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) saw an F-35 flying in the US transfer classified data to the UK's Nexus combat cloud.

As noted in the announcement, the Project Deimos trial between the UK and US was specifically geared at demonstrating the F-35's ability to pass data to the RAF's Nexus platform for exploitation. The Nexus combat cloud was devised under Project Astra to develop a ‘next-generation air force'.

“In this real-time demonstration, 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 laboratory in Farnborough, UK, where it was ingested into the Nexus C2 system,” Lockheed Martin said, adding, “This achievement marks a significant step forward in multidomain integration, enabling F-35 interoperability in real-time with a non-US C2 system.”

The head of the RCO, Air Commodore Chris Melville, described the successful Project Deimos trial as “representing a key step forward towards both a future integrated battlespace and air command and control environment”.