A USAF B-1B Lancer bomber made its first test flight with a Link 16 Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL) installed on June 4 from Edwards AFB.
The FIDL was tested during the four hour flight by sending and receiving text messages and receiving virtual mission assignment data such as target coordinates for a weapon.
The B-1B already has the beyond line-of-sight Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol (JREAP) datalink installed, but the Link 16 adds line-of-sight capability to the JREAP and integrates the data onto new full-colour displays with intuitive symbols and moving maps.
