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Air Warfare
Full-colour video enhances Litening
A Targeting Pod So Advanced, It Can See The Future. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
USAF Reserve and Air National Guard F-16s fly with upgraded targeting pods.
Upgraded Litening advanced targeting pods with full-colour and digital video capability have been rolled out for the first time, manufacturer Northrop Grumman announced on 4 May.
The targeting pods were fielded with the USAF Reserve and Air National Guard, giving F-16 pilots an 'unprecedented level of situational awareness and targeting certainty', the company claimed.
Litening is an EO/IR sensor system for targeting and surveillance that enables aircrews to detect, acquire, identify and track targets at long ranges.
The pods are built with a modular design and so can be upgraded to the colour configuration.
The upgrade also delivers the ability to record simultaneous video feeds from all sensors for post-mission analysis, automatic laser code display and an eye-safe mode that allows for more realistic training while using the laser.
Northrop Grumman VP James Conroy said that the Litening pod 'can display up to three different views simultaneously, allowing operators to see colour and infrared video side by side, and in different fields of view'.
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