’s U-2 spy plane made its debut at the Northern Edge joint training exercise last month, demonstrating a new capability nicknamed the “Einstein Box” that, among other things, enables crucial battlefield communications between new stealth fighters and legacy aircraft.
For its first appearance at Alaska’s premier joint training exercise, the Dragon Lady was configured as a communications relay, according to a quote tucked away at the bottom of a
press release. What DOD didn’t say was what enabled that configuration of the U-2: a little-known system, developed by Lockheed’s secretive Skunk Works arm, called Enterprise Mission Computer 2.0, or EMC2—thus the nickname “Einstein Box.”
In simple terms, the Einstein Box is a “plug and play” system that bolts on to the U-2’s avionics processor and enables various capabilities, said Kyle Franklin, Lockheed’s U-2 program manager, in a June 1 interview. One of its applications is to enable communications between aircraft that operate on different tactical data links: Link 16, the data link used by most legacy U.S. Air Force aircraft; the
’s multifunction advanced data link (MADL) waveform; and the
’s intraflight data link (IFDL), Franklin said.
In this way, the Einstein Box could help solve one of the Air Force’s major challenges: getting aircraft from different generations to talk to each other and share a common picture quickly and efficiently. The F-35 and F-22 are flying data hubs, designed to vacuum in critical threat information and transmit it all over the world. The problem is that the Air Force does not currently have the network architecture necessary to quickly and efficiently distribute that data to the legacy fleet, most of which operates on Commodore 64-era computer systems.
The F-22, for instance, was designed to communicate covertly only with other F-22s, using the low-probability-of-detection, low-probability-of-interception (LPD/LPI) IFDL. By contrast, fourth-generation fighters use the nonstealthy Link 16, which gives off a radio frequency signature that potential adversaries can detect and track. The F-35, which communicates clandestinely with other F-35s over
’s MADL, has the ability to transmit and receive Link 16 signals, but doing so will compromise its position if it is operating in stealth mode.
But the Einstein Box is not just a communications gateway. Renee Pasman, director of mission systems road maps for the Skunk Works, compared the Einstein Box to a smartphone that can run many different applications. The system, basically a computer, can also enable dynamic mission replanning, as well as various intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and electronic warfare capabilities, she said.
“One of the things Lockheed has been [working on] is really how to put together a truly open architecture that allows us to integrate software services, third-party applications, [and] new capabilities quickly without impacting the system architecture of the platform that we are flying on,” said Pasman in a June 5 interview. “The Einstein box is the latest step in terms of the hardware implementation along that investment plan.”
The internally funded Einstein Box builds on Enterprise Mission Computer 1.0 (EMC1), Lockheed’s first iteration of the capability, Pasman said. Lockheed has demonstrated EMC1 in previous events such as Project Missouri, a series of flight tests that took place at Nellis AFB, Nevada, in 2014. Lockheed used a different hardware configuration during Project Missouri: testers outfitted an F-22 with a
tactical radio for Link 16 transmit and receive capability, and two
(now L3 Technologies) devices to support encrypted, secure operations. This enabled secure information sharing between stealth and legacy platforms, according to a Lockheed press release issued at the time.
The most recent demonstration, in Northern Edge, was the first time Lockheed flew “that particular configuration” of the upgraded EMC2 capability on any platform, Pasman said. She declined to give specifics on the configuration of EMC2 on the U-2 during Northern Edge.
The Einstein Box could be hosted on a different airborne platform other than the U-2, Pasman said. Lockheed likes using the U-2 to demonstrate cutting-edge technology because it has sufficient size, weight, power and cooling to carry many payloads, as well as an open systems architecture that makes the rapid integration of new capabilities very easy, she said. But the U-2 could be an idea platform to host a communications gateway between stealth fighters and legacy aircraft: its high altitude not only makes it hard to detect, but also allows line-of-sight—necessary for directional communications data links like IFDL and MADL—from greater distances.
The Air Force is working to build an active network, sometimes called a “combat cloud,” over the battlefield that enables the transmission of information from the tactical edge of the fight to command and control centers. But it is slow going—industry has been anticipating a request for proposals from the Air Force for a so-called “5th-to-4th” program of record for several years, but so far no such solicitation has emerged.
Lockheed could certainly offer the Einstein Box for the Air Force’s potential 5th-to-4th program, Pasman said. But the open systems architecture offers much more.
“Going back to the imperfect but sometimes useful cell phone analogy: your phone can do a lot more than just make calls,” Pasman said. “This technology is no different—it can do a lot more than just establish communication.”
