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In this paper, we report on the demonstration of a high-rate free-space optical communication downlink from a fast airborne platform to a ground station. The flight platform used was a Panavia Tornado with a laser communication terminal installed in an attached avionic demonstrator pod. A transportable optical ground station equipped with a free-space receiver front end was used as the receiver station. Downlink wavelength for communication and uplink wavelength for beacon laser were chosen to be compatible with the C-band DWDM grid. New optomechanical tracking systems were developed and applied on both sides for link acquisition and stabilization. The flight tests were carried out at the end of November 2013 near the Airbus Defence & Space location in Manching, Germany. The campaign successfully demonstrated the maturity and readiness of laser communication for aircraft downlinks at a data rate …