---
title: "F-22s Can’t Talk To F-35s, Because Of Course They Can’t"
description: "The F-35 Lightning II jet can't communicate all that well with its little brother the F-22 Raptor. Because of course it can't."
date: "2018-04-03"
modified: "2018-04-03"
authors:
  - name: "Paul Szoldra"
    job_title: "Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/paul-szoldra/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/f-22-f-35-communcations/"
categories:
  - "Air Force"
  - "Aircraft"
  - "Fighter Aircraft"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "Navy"
  - "News"
  - "Stealth"
  - "Tactics"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
---

# F-22s Can’t Talk To F-35s, Because Of Course They Can’t

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/18987680-1.jpg>)

The F-35 Lightning II jet can't communicate all that well with its little brother the F-22 Raptor. Because of course it can't.

Just like a government-built round peg that's supposed to go into a square hole, the F-22's communications systems can't send its "most sensitive data" to other planes besides other F-22s since they are different from everything else, including the F-35, [according](<https://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2018/March%25202018/The-F-22-and-the-F-35-Are-Struggling-to-Talk-to-Each-Other---And-to-the-Rest-of-USAF.aspx>) to Air Force Magazine.

For now, F-22 pilots can only *receive* data from F-35 pilots and talk to them on the radio, but they can't send data back, severely limiting the Lightning's much-hyped role as being a "quarterback" on the battlefield.

Here's how Air Force Magazine describes it:

The situation wasn’t brought about by negligence. In developing the F-22—and later, the F-35—designers needed to preserve the jets’ stealth against rapidly evolving adversaries. Standard radio emissions would reveal their locations, which meant devising ways the low-observable fighters could talk to each other without giving away their position. Both jets have what are called “low probability of detection/intercept” communications gear to stay hidden. The F-35’s system—because it was developed 10 years after the F-22’s—takes a different approach.

The F-35 can talk to just about everything and fuse data received from other fifth-generation and fourth-generation aircraft, since it's outfitted with two different communications systems. But the F-22 has a communications system built only for itself, called the Intra-Flight Data Link.

F-22s were supposed to get the upgraded Multifunction Advanced Data Link that the F-35 has, but surprise, that was canceled five years ago due to cost.

“There’s a lot of improvements that could have been done and should have been done 15 years ago,” David Rockwell, a senior defense electronics analyst with Teal Group, [told](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/why-america-s-two-top-fighter-jets-can-t-talk-to-each-other>) Bloomberg. “The Air Force postponed a lot of things for F-22.”

The Air Force plans to start fixing the problem by 2021, according to Bloomberg. It will probably cost a fortune, so if you have the means, it may be good to check out some Lockheed stock.

## Author
Paul Szoldra was the Editor in Chief of Task & Purpose from October 2018 until August 2022. Since joining T&P, he has led a talented team of writers, editors, and creators who produce military journalism reaching millions of readers each month. He also founded and edits [Duffel Blog](<https://www.duffelblog.com/>), a popular satirical newsletter for the military. Before becoming a journalist in 2013, he served as a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, Korea, and other areas of the Pacific. His eyes still go up every time a helicopter from Camp Pendleton flies over his office in Southern California.

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