BEags
You are so on the money about JTIDS, but sadly the great "Networked Enabled Capability" (NEC) Holy Grail has never materialised in the UK Forces. Why? Because each DEC (or CAP these days), Program Team and FLC has its own agenda. Sadly, I saw more NEC working with my US cousins than I ever did with my own Forces. Time and again it would be the F3 and the E3 "on the net" in a UK COMAO with everyone else completely "cluedo". Things got a little better when Typhoon came along, but Nimrod, VC10 (mostly), Tristar, Puma, Merlin, Chinook, GR4, Harrier, Jaguar, C130 and Hawk were conspicuous in their absence!
Also, the integration of JTIDS in F3 was superb (took a couple of years to get right though): no separate displays (ala F15), data-link tracks incorporated on TAC Display and RADAR Display with the ability to text message between assets including secure voice up to Secret.
