Sharing UAV feeds easier with new data link

[unhappycamper]

Sharing UAV feeds easier with new data link
By Michael Hoffman and Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 17:28:31 EST

Army and Air Force leaders are working to create common standards for sending data to and from unmanned aerial vehicles, allowing imagery to flow more easily around the battlefield.

The secret to getting this imagery — including the full-motion video prized inside the war zone — to more troops is the Tactical Common Data Link, which will be installed on new UAVs and retrofitted on old ones by the end of 2010, said Col. Eric Mathewson, director of the Air Force Unmanned Aerial System Task Force.

TCDLs will be installed on all UAVs more than 30 pounds across the military and communicate with any computer or video screen connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Router, network, he said.

Today’s UAVs transmit data in many formats, making it difficult to share still imagery and video between services and sometimes even between units of the same service.

The TCDL will transmit a standard wave form instead of a proprietary one that will allow it to communicate across service boundaries, Mathewson said.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/01/airforce_UAV_012209/%2e