Photo courtesy of www.chinook-helicopter.com Boeing [NYSE: BA] has demo'd, for the first time, the ability to deliver streaming video over a mobile, ad hoc tactical network from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a Chinook helicopter and ground troops.

The demo proves that the high-bandwidth connection can deliver video beyond line-of-sight to the tactical edge, providing greater situational awareness to warfighters equipped to receive video. The net-centric demonstration took place March 16-18 at Boeing's Systems Analysis Laboratory in Brisbane, Australia, where personnel from Australia's Army, Navy, and Air Force viewed the network's capabilities on actual flight hardware. "This tactical network is ahead of its time in many ways," said Tom DuBois, Boeing Rotorcraft Systems architect and Technical Fellow for Avionics and Software. "The network's open architecture means it can operate simultaneously with other transformational communication systems, while also supporting UAV sensor visualization, white board, chat and network-based situational awareness displays."