TADIL-J refers to the system of standardized J-series messages which are known by NATO as Link 16. These are defined by U.S. military standard (MIL-STD) 6016. It is used by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, the NSA, several NATO countries, and Japan as part of the Multi-Tactical Data Link Network, a Tactical Data Link.
TADIL J was designed as an improved data link used to exchange near real-time (NRT) information. It is a communication, navigation, and identification system that supports information exchange between tactical command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) systems.
The radio transmission and reception component of TADIL J is the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) or its successor, the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS). These high-capacity, ultra high frequency (UHF), line of sight (LOS), frequency-hopping data communications terminals provide secure, jam-resistant voice and digital data exchange. JTIDS/MIDS terminals operate on the principle of time division multiple access (TDMA), wherein time slots are allocated among all TADIL J network participants for the transmission and reception of data. TDMA eliminates the requirement for a net control station (NCS) by providing a nodeless communications network architecture. [1]
Other TADILs included TADIL-A, TADIL-B, and TADIL-C, which were known by NATO as Link 11, Link 11B, and Link 4 respectively.
J-series messages can also be exchanged over IP-based bearers using the NATO-defined SIMPLE protocol, JREAP and via satellite by S-TADIL J.
TADIL is no longer an official US Department of Defense term (per DISA guidance). Instead it has officially been replaced by the generic term Tactical Data Link ( TDL). However, the term "TADIL" is a legacy holdover and still used in the vernacular.