Sorry to dive back in time again, but if you consider air defence networks, and linked interceptors you have to go back to WW II. I know that datalinks, in their true sense, did not exist back then and everything was done via radio, but the concept was the same.
In the Battle of Britain a lot of inboud German formations were detected miles out on British radar and their position was relayed to central Fighter Command, which then relayed the scramble order to the appropriate sector. In Germany later in the war, the Nachtjäger (Night Fighter) defence network was a marvel. The defence ‘Net’ for the inbound British bombers was divided into small sectors, each sector would have a single night fighter on constant airborne patrol (usually twin engined high endurance types). Once the British bombers had been picked up on German radar, the intercept order was given to the Sector(s) concerned, and fighters vectored to the kill.
The emergence of the datalink is simply an advancement upon a concept born over 60 years ago.
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