The US Army wants to create a new system by which commanders in air transports on the way to an urgent mission can receive continual updates on the situation while in flight. This could be valuable in peacekeeping or warfighting missions, where the data given to commanders just before take-off could be dangerously obsolete by the end of a 12-hour flight. Another innovation the Army wants is for commanders and staff in different transports all going to the same mission to be able to exchange information in real time through a "chat room in the sky". This could involve a central network server mounted on a pallet and loaded into an aircraft that is part of the formation.--Stephen V Cole