The United States Defense Department has awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.84 billion contract to supply Litening targeting pods to the US Air Force and to upgrade and maintain existing systems.
The framework contract will remain in effect until 2035, with the US Air Force placing individual orders under its terms.
Litening is a targeting pod developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Northrop Grumman manufactures it in the US in partnership with the Israeli company for branches of the US military and foreign customers.
A targeting pod resembles a missile and is mounted on a dedicated hardpoint beneath an aircraft. It is equipped with a camera, additional sensors, and a laser for guiding weapons, allowing pilots and navigators to locate distant ground targets during the day or at night and in all weather conditions.
In recent years, it has also become increasingly important for the equally crucial task of identifying unmanned aerial vehicles and drones, small aircraft that onboard radars sometimes struggle to detect.
Rafael develops Litening after US refuses to sell targeting pods to Israel
In an ironic twist, Rafael developed Litening 40 years ago with funding from the Defense Ministry after the US refused to sell the Israeli Air Force its equivalent American system, LANTIRN, long before the era of efforts to achieve greater weapons independence.
Rafael has since developed five generations of the pod, offering improved range and resolution, as well as the option of integrating radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, in a collaboration between the two competing Israeli defense companies.
Since 1996, the Pentagon has purchased 900 Litening pods, which proved cheaper and more effective than LANTIRN. In the US, the system is used by Air Force F-15E, F-16, and A-10 aircraft, Navy F/A-18 fighter jets, Marine Corps Harrier aircraft, and even B-52 bombers and Hercules transport aircraft.
The F-35 aircraft being purchased by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are equipped with an integrated weapons guidance system, eliminating the need for external systems such as Litening. The F-35’s entry into service raised concerns that Litening would lose an important customer, but the US military will continue using the system on its other aircraft.
Northrop Grumman reported that the system has an operational availability rate of 95%, indicating a high level of reliability.
German government purchases €350 million of Litening pods
The contract does not specify how many pods the Pentagon will purchase, which models it will acquire, or whether it will upgrade to the fifth generation of Litening. That version was purchased last year by the German government for Luftwaffe Typhoon aircraft in a deal worth €350 million.
Northrop Grumman has initially received a $43 million contract as the first expenditure under the broader agreement.