WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Air Force has successfully integrated F-16 Falcons with F-22 Raptors in coordinated combat training exercises for the first time, Northrop Grumman said in a news release.
"Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force have achieved the first integration of fifth- and fourth-generation fighter aircraft – a critical capability to prevail in combat – during a live, virtual and constructive (LVC) training event," the release stated on Monday.
The air-to-air combat exercise was carried out at the US military’s Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.
"Through LEXIOS, virtual aircraft operated by actual aircrew members participate[d] in the same airspace alongside their live counterparts via networked simulators at full security levels," Northrop Grumman explained.
Constructive — simulated forces in a simulated environment — components can also be used to augment the battlespace with a full complement of threats, the company noted.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the US Air Force's Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON), a system that enables aircraft platforms to work together from separate locations in a virtual environment.
