Military planes, satellites, ships and other vehicles can see a vast portion of the world through cameras, radar, infrared sensors and other data collection. But the tools necessary to send critical information seamlessly from a plane to a nearby ship or satellite are still in the works.

Lockheed Martin is developing software to translate the machine languages to allow for that seamless transition, said Ron Fehlen, vice president of mission architecture, national security space at Lockheed Martin Space. He likened it to software needed to translate different languages such as Hebrew and Greek, so that data collected by an F-35 can be shared with a nearby satellite.

As a former Air Force officer who worked on an airborne warning and control system in an Boeing E-3 Sentry and in acquisitions, Fehlen said, he understands the vision for the work and the need to deliver “the right data at the right time to the right people,” he said.

Through the company’s self-funded Combined Joint All-Domain Command & Control Interoperability Factory, Lockheed Martin demonstrated the concept in November and expects it could be out in the field in the next few years and possibly sooner, he said.

In the hands of soldiers, sailors, pilots and others it will create greater situational awareness and give them more data to help them make decisions. It will also help with better management across the battlefield, he said.

In Colorado, guardians in the Space Force could benefit from the new systems’ data management that will bring them more timely information from different sources, such as satellite sensors.

“If I was a guardian sitting down and looking at a screen, I would want to know I was seeing the best, most recent data,” Fehlen said.

While the software development has been focused on Lockheed systems, such as the F-35 and specific satellites among other systems, Fehlen said, the company is aiming for the software to work across systems developed by other companies as well and future machine languages.

While the company does not have an active contract for the software, several buyers are interested, he said.

Fehlen expects the software development that’s taken place at Lockheed facilities across the country, will be an ongoing process.

He also described it as a foundation for the military’s broader vision for joint all-domain command and control. The Defense Department describes the vision as a way to “sense, make sense, and act” across land, sea, air, cyber and space during all phases of war.