Link 16 is a TDMA-based secure, jam-resistant, high-speed digital data link that operates in the radio frequency band 960–1,215 MHz, allocated in line with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio regulations to the aeronautical radionavigation service and to the radionavigation satellite service.
It uses the transmission characteristics and protocols, conventions, and fixed-length or variable length message formats defined by MIL-STD 6016 and STANAG 5516 (formerly the JTIDS technical interface design plan).
Information is typically passed at one of three data rates: 31.6, 57.6, or 115.2 kilobits per second (kbits/s), although the radios and frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) waveform itself can support throughput values well over 1 Mbit/s.
[1] Link 16 information is primarily coded in J-series messages which are binary data words with well-defined meanings.
Link 16 equipment is located in ground, airborne, and sea-based air defense platforms and selected fighter aircraft.