Northrop Grumman awarded $116 m to upgrade LITENING Advanced Targeting Systems

Northrop Grumman has received an award of $116 million to upgrade AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING Advanced Targeting Systems for the United States military.

Under the terms of the existing indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, Northrop Grumman will provide upgrades and spares to the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and Marine Corps. This award will bring all Air Force Block 1 pods to the G4 configuration, completing the service’s transition to the latest version of the LITENING system.

The AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING pod is a self-contained, multisensor system that enables pilots to detect, acquire, auto-track and identify targets for highly accurate delivery of both conventional and precision-guided weapons.

The LITENING Advanced Targeting Pod delivers the latest advancements in sensor, laser imaging and data link technology. LITENING’s technologies include high definition video, 1K forward-looking infrared and charge-coupled device sensors, short wave infrared laser imaging, color symbology, tracker improvements and enhanced zoom. These advancements deliver more accurate target identification and location at longer ranges than previous generations of LITENING targeting pod systems while reducing pilot workload.

More than 700 LITENING pods have been delivered to date to the Marine Corps, all components of the Air Force and eight international customers.

Source and image: Northrop Grumman