![F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter & F-22A Raptor](http://isnblog.ethz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/F-22-and-F-35-BLOGIMAGE.jpg)
This article was originally published by War on the Rocks on 4 December, 2014.
As the Air Force Times recently reported, the F-22 and F-35A conducted their first integrated training mission earlier this month. Several observers declared this mission, which included offensive counter air, defensive counter air and interdiction operations, to be a success. But if the planes are to actually operate as a cohesive strike package in the complex A2/AD environments of the future, the services will first need to address a glaring gap in interoperability: data links.