Lockheed Martin Tests In-Flight High Speed Downlinks

Lockheed Martin's Sniper XR /PANTERA) advanced targeting pod (ATP) data downlink capability was successfully flight tested on a Norwegian mid-life upgrade F-16 aircraft at Bodo Air Force Base in Bodo, Norway. This event marked the first flight for the Sniper XR-based downlink capability. The downlink system transmitted a real-time PANTERA video stream to a downlink ground station from the Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 aircraft at tactically significant ranges. Lockheed Martin said the Sniper XR/PANTERA downlink supports the armed forces move towards a net-centric battlespace, allowing ground forces to view the battlefield from the airborne vantage point by providing wireless, scrambled, real-time streaming video (infrared and day TV) from the aircraft to ground forces.



The Sniper XR/PANTERA downlink is compatible with currently fielded, man-portable ground receiver stations (Rover III) and features a long-range line-of-sight transmission radius. The downlink allows for simultaneous video transmission from multiple downlink-equipped aircraft operating in the same airspace. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/