LITENING pod upgrade contract won by Northrop Grumman
NewsNovember 19, 2014
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. Northrop Grumman won a contract to upgrade the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING Advanced Targeting Systems for the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Marine Corps. The award will complete the process of bringing all Air Force Block 1 pods to the G4 configuration, which equals completion of the transition to the latest version of the LITENING system.
The AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING pod is a self-contained, multisensor system that provides pilots with the capability to detect, acquire, auto-track, and identify targets for accurate delivery of precision-guided and conventional weapons.
These upgrades will improve the range, resolution, and identification capabilities of the pods flown today," says Jim Mocarski, vice president of airborne tactical sensors business unit at Northrop Grumman. The contract was valued at $116 million.
LITENING's technologies include high definition video, 1K forward-looking infrared and charge-coupled device sensors, tracker improvements, short wave infrared laser imaging, color symbology, and enhanced zoom. More than 700 pods have been delivered so far to the Marine Corps and all components of the Air Force as well as eight international customers.
