US Targeting Pods(Sniper,Litening,Lantirn..)

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Lockheed Martin Receives $59 Million U.S. Air Force Contract For Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods

15:43 GMT, February 1, 2010 Orlando, FL | Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has received $59 million from the U.S. Air Force for additional Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP). This order represents the second increment on the U.S. Air Force’s Sniper ATP Lot 9 contract, originally awarded in September 2009, bringing the total value of the Lot 9 buy to $95 million. Delivering the highest resolution imagery for precision targeting and non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the Sniper ATP plays a major role in Air Force operations in theater, providing top cover for ground forces, as well as increasing the safety of civilian populations. “This Lot 9 increment brings total Sniper ATP sales to more than 650 pods for the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard and 12 international air forces,” said Ken Fuhr, director of Fixed-wing Targeting Programs at Lockheed Martin. “Recent orders have also been received from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the Turkish Air Force.” Lot 9 pods will be used to support additional U.S. Air Force deployments and allow the Air Force to allocate pod resources to home-station training, enabling aircrews to train with the equipment they will use in deployed operations. Deployed in theater on U.S. Air Force and coalition partner F-15, F-16, A-10 and B-1 aircraft, the Sniper ATP is the most widely used targeting pod in combat operations. Lockheed Martin continues to infuse new hardware and algorithms into the Sniper ATP, expanding its missions and combat capabilities. Lot 9 Sniper pod technology will include a new data link capability, enhanced multiple moving target tracker, the capability to deliver legacy weapons and new weapon variants on moving targets, and weapon damage estimation radius displays to reduce the potential for collateral damage. Since its first deployment in 2005, the Sniper ATP has enabled aircrews to operate well outside jet noise ranges, permitting forces to identify, track and defeat targets without detection. Its common software and hardware interface provide interoperability across aircraft fleets. The Sniper ATP is operational on U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard and multinational F-16, F-15, B-1, F-18, Harrier and A-10 aircraft. Platform expansion continues with the B-52, Tornado, Typhoon, unmanned aerial vehicles and additional aircraft. The Sniper ATP’s modular design facilitates easy field upgrade to pods already in service and enables rapid flight line repair to maintain a 98 percent fully mission capable rate.

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DATE:04/06/10
SOURCE:Flight International
Lead-laser guidance tops Sniper targeting pod upgrade
By John Croft

The US Air Force in May began fielding a new software load upgrade for its Lockheed Martin Sniper advanced targeting pods with the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. The development came in parallel with testing at its 85th Test and Evaluation Sqn at Eglin AFB, Florida.

Sniper version S3.5 includes lead-laser guidance, designed to help pilots automatically target and destroy a moving object. The system estimates the speed and direction of movement of the target, providing the pilot with its velocity on a cockpit display and automatically computing a lead on the object.

The pilot can also use the velocity information as a back-up to the automatic tracking and targeting option. The previous software upgrade, S3.0, included a fragmentation circle indicator in the cockpit and picture-in-picture capability that allows the pilot or crew member to keep an enhanced image up on a dedicated section of the display.

Other new functions for the S3.5 version include an image overlay feature that blends electro-optical and infrared images to help with identification of targets at night.

A compact multi-band datalink is also included to allow equipped ground forces to see the location of the aircraft and its video feed. Lockheed says the S3.5 upgrade will be incorporated into all Sniper pods once the evaluation is complete.

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Lockheed Martin to Upgrade Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod’s Digital Data Link Capability

ORLANDO, FL, September 13th, 2010 -- The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $13 million contract to upgrade the Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod’s (ATP) existing data link with an enhanced digital Compact Multi-band Data Link (CMDL). This upgrade expands the Sniper pod’s current video data link capabilities by enabling digital transmission of high definition imagery and metadata between aircrews and ground troops at extended ranges.

“Video datalink capability is in every Sniper pod supporting U.S. military operations and has proven to greatly aid in non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for ground forces,” said Bill Spangenberg, Sniper ATP program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Sniper has reduced engagement timelines for close air support ten-fold, which is critical to saving lives.”

The CMDL upgrade increases long-range battlefield situational awareness and positive target coordination and confirmation, while protecting air-to-ground transmissions from enemy exploitation. CMDL communicates seamlessly with the fielded ROVER family of ground stations including ROVER 5, a portable handheld transceiver.

The CMDL upgrade follows the S3.5 software upgrade of U.S. Air Force and coalition Sniper pods operational on F-16 Block 30/40/50, A-10C, F-15E and B-1 aircraft. The S3.5 adds emerging aircraft interfaces to Sniper ATP and provides new capabilities in air-to-air and air-to-surface tracking and designation, selectable ground-stabilized fragmentation circles, unpowered built-in-test data download capability, and video data link metadata and symbology enhancements. The Sniper pod’s modular architecture enables field-level retrofit and facilitates 98 percent fleet availability.

Also operational on the CF-18, Harrier GR7 and GR9 aircraft, Sniper ATP platform expansion continues on the B-52, Tornado and Typhoon with further expansion envisioned to unmanned aerial vehicles and additional aircraft.

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Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Pod Is Majority Winner for Advanced Targeting Pod-Sensor Enhancement Contract; Total Potential Value Exceeds $1 Billion

ORLANDO, FL, October 20th, 2010 -- The U.S. Air Force selected Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] as the winner of the 60 percent share of the Advanced Targeting Pod-Sensor Enhancement (ATP-SE) competition. Lockheed Martin’s Sniper® pod offering was determined to be the best overall value to the U.S. Government.

Under the terms of this contract, the Government has options to buy up to 670 pods through 2017. If all options are exercised, Lockheed Martin’s share of the program will total more than $1 billion. The initial contract value is $23.5 million, which will provide pods for the Government’s test program.

“Lockheed Martin is proud to remain the U.S. Air Force’s targeting pod of choice, and we look forward to fielding Sniper in the ATP-SE configuration to provide even greater capability to the Warfighter,” said Tom Simmons, vice president of Fire Control at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

With new enhanced sensors for combat identification and a two-way datalink, Sniper expands non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and net-centric capabilities.

Sniper offers an affordable road map for modernizing and enhancing precision targeting capabilities for U.S. Air Force and coalition partner F-15, F-16, A-10, B-1 and B-52 aircraft. The Sniper pod’s hardware and software configuration provides continued “plug-and-play” flexibility across services and multiple platforms. The Sensor Enhancement configuration is a field-level upgrade to existing pods.

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First Deployment with Air National Guard Increases Sniper Pod Presence in Combat Operations

ORLANDO, FL, December 2nd, 2010 --

The South Carolina Air National Guard recently returned from a combat deployment utilizing Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Sniper pods on the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This marks the first time Sniper pods have been used in combat by an Air National Guard unit. While in theater, the 169th Fighter Wing employed the Sniper pod’s non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR) capabilities, relaying high resolution streaming video for rapid coordination with ground troops.

“The Sniper pod did exactly what we needed it to do,” said Brigadier General Scott Williams, Commander, 169th Fighter Wing, South Carolina Air National Guard. “For a pod that was designed to destroy enemy air defenses and surface-to-air missiles, it has great capability for non-traditional ISR, which we’ve proved over the last four months in Iraq.”

The 169th Fighter Wing reported that, during its deployment, the Sniper pod's track capability saved lives by enabling point-of-origin searches that rapidly determined the source of mortar attacks and successfully tracked enemy combatants in cluttered environments. F-16s with Sniper pods also served as a line of defense by monitoring forward refueling points, where troops and aircraft can be vulnerable while preparing for follow-on missions.

“The Air National Guard is an important Sniper operational user, with a significant number of video data link-equipped pods,” said Mark Fischer, senior business development manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The 169th Fighter Wing was the first F-16 Block 50/52 unit operational with Sniper for the Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses mission, and they are very experienced with its capabilities.”

The 169th Fighter Wing joins other units in making the Sniper pod the most widely deployed targeting pod in combat operations. In theater across U.S. Air Force F-16, F-15E, A-10C and B-1 aircraft, the Sniper pod is also being integrated on the B-52. The Sniper pod maintains a 98% fleet availability rate, and Lockheed Martin continues to field key technology upgrades to keep Sniper on the leading edge of technology and responsive to Warfighter needs.

THOMAS NEWDICK - The Drive a écrit:

Targeting Pods Are Being Tested On Air National Guard C-130 Hercules Transports

Adding the proven Litening advanced targeting pod to the C-130H could help give the aging airlifters a new lease of life.

The U.S. Air Force’s workhorse transport aircraft, the C-130 Hercules, has undertaken operational testing with the Litening multi-sensor pod, traditionally used for precision targeting by fighters and attack jets. If it makes it to the front line, the new capability would initially help the C-130H model in its core airlift mission by ensuring it can put airdropped loads exactly where they’re needed, as well as checking to make sure landing zones are clear and giving the lumbering aircraft an added tool to avoid hostile air defenses. Beyond that, the pod could be added to other aircraft, too.

The trials, involving a pair of C-130Hs, were run between April 5-13 this year at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. A joint team from the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) C-130 Hercules Detachment, housed within the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 189th Airlift Wing, and the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182nd Airlift Wing, carried out the tests. The primary goal was to assess the pod’s functionality and explore what kinds of advantages it offers for the C-130H’s operational mission.


An airman from the 189th Airlift Wing gives a thumbs-up during a C-130H training flight near Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.

Typically, a combat aircraft uses the Israeli-designed, Northrop Grumman-produced Rafael Litening targeting pod (TGP) to locate, fix, and target enemy positions while deploying precision-guided munitions. However, the tests at Davis-Monthan involved supporting the Hercules as part of the precision airdrop initiative — delivering dropped loads more accurately, especially from high altitude, which helps put the aircraft outside the range of ground fire. That latter factor is especially important when working in conflict zones, where even poorly equipped militia forces are likely to be armed with weapons that can pose a serious threat to a low-flying transport aircraft.

Equipped with various sensors, including a high-resolution forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and full color TV sensor to capture imagery day and night, the pod could be used to identify a particular drop zone, before generating specific geographic coordinates, then tracking items of cargo dropped via the C-130’s rear ramp. As well as ensuring cargos land in the right area, sometimes it can be just as important that they don’t fall in the wrong area, something that can have a seriously detrimental effect for friendly troops and civilians alike.

“AATC is working to fully integrate the Litening TGP with the C-130, primarily to aid the precision airdrop initiative,” explained Lieutenant Justin Brumley, the director of operations at AATC. “The pod helps the C-130 airdrop mission by adding the ability to generate airdrop location coordinates, locate and avoid enemy and sensitive objects, such as people or structures; and track airdropped supplies following the airdrop release.”

It’s unclear if the trials also involved the Joint Precision Airdrop System, or JPADS, a GPS-aided airdrop capability that already exists in service. Combined with this system, the Litening pod could be used to get coordinates, before using JPADS to program the actual pallets to aim for the correct landing spot.

In the past, the Arkansas Air National Guard has already been earmarked for Litening pod trials, modifying two aircraft with underwing pylons to carry the pods and sending these planes to Tucson Air National Guard Base in Arizona for a series of trials lasting around six months in 2016. According to a news release at the time, these were planned to encompass airdrops, assault landings, and low-level and high-level formation flying.

Although the results of the earlier tests were “promising,” according to officials, there is seemingly no public account of what was achieved and efforts to integrate the pod on the C-130H then seemed to lose momentum.

That’s now changed with the recent activity at Davis-Monthan, during which the AATC worked alongside that base’s 563rd Rescue Group as part of an operational testing effort. The 563rd was on hand to provide training airdrop equipment, load it into the two aircraft, and also provide a drop zone location at Marana Regional Airport, a relief airfield serving Davis-Monthan.


A maintainer from the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center checks a Litening pod at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

“Operational testing means testing in a simulated operational environment,” Brumley added. “In this case, it means airdropping equipment to an active drop zone.”

While this latest test is concerned with the C-130H ‘legacy’ aircraft operated by the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, there’s hope to integrate the pod on other platforms, too. The more modern C-130J would be an obvious candidate. Overall, pod-based systems offer a particular advantage in that they can be adapted to different airframes and can be installed or not depending on the particular mission requirements.

“If the Litening TGP becomes a fielded system for the C-130H, then a large amount of groundwork is laid for other platforms to readily implement this potentially game-changing technology,” stated Major Richard Damron, a project analyst for the AATC C-130H Test Detachment.




In Australia, meanwhile, the C-130J is the platform that’s been used in a similar set of experiments using the Litening pod, as part of the wider Plan Jericho modernization drive for the Royal Australian Air Force. Flight trials began in January last year, again with the pod — borrowed from the Australian F/A-18A/B Hornet fighter jet fleet — mounted on a pylon below the wing. The trials aircraft also has a new high-speed satellite communications antenna fitted to transmit greater amounts of information, such as high-definition video, to other assets.

Should the Litening begin to be fielded operationally by the U.S. Air Force’s C-130H fleet, it not only promises to improve the accuracy of airdrops and the survivability of the aircraft but also has other potential applications, too. It could be used in support of a wide range of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, including monitoring natural disasters, such as wildfires, or state emergencies.

The C-130’s long on-station time coupled with the pod’s datalink would allow the aircraft to transmit real-time imagery to a ground station, providing a non-traditional persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability in benign scenarios. For instance, as well as airdropping aid in the wake of a hurricane, a Litening-equipped C-130 could also remain on station to monitor the extent of the damage below, streaming imagery live to command centers and other rescue assets.

As well as monitoring the situation on the ground during the mission, a Litening pod could provide the Hercules crew with a significant boost in situational awareness (SA) throughout the flight. In this way, the pilots would be better able to operate from austere or unfamiliar runways and airstrips aided by high-definition imagery of these locations. Other efforts have been made to enhance SA for U.S. Hercules variants, too, including plans to use the cameras already available in the directional infrared countermeasures system on the HC-130J Combat King II rescue aircraft to turn them into an augmented vision system, in a project nicknamed Sauron’s Eye.

Some C-130Hs have also received the Real-Time In Cockpit, or RTIC, modification, which provides another means of increasing situational awareness. RTIC provides information on the relative positions of other aircraft, as well as potential threats, and facilitates communication between different pilots. You can read more about RTIC in this feature on a separate AATC test program, involving the KC-135 Stratotanker.

If fielded on the C-130H, the Litening pod could fulfill one of the elements the Air National Guard is looking to add to these aging airlifters to keep them viable alongside the newer C-130Js. In its 2021 Weapons Systems Modernization Priorities Book, the Guard notes that “A targeting pod capable of providing standoff acquisition and assessment of drop zones/landing zones ensuring first pass success is a must in future combat” for the C-130H specifically.

Ultimately, the service would like an open-architecture pod capable of holding additional items, as well, such as a jammer, decoys, and kinetic and non-kinetic defensive measures. Similar types of multifunctional pods, providing targeting, situational awareness, and more are already making their way into service, including the Legion Pod for the F-15C fighter jet, which you can read about here.



Potentially, the kinds of capabilities the Air National Guard is eyeing for its C-130Hs could also be provided in another form, thanks to the aircraft’s prodigious load-carrying qualities. As an alternative to wing-mounted systems, one other option could be the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR), a modular system added to the aircraft’s rear paratrooper doors that can mount surveillance arrays, communications nodes, a radio and television broadcast antennas, among others.

There are other initiatives, too, intended to extend the useful service life of the C-130H fleet, including upgraded engines and eight-bladed propellers, which promise to save millions in operating costs, an effort you can read more about here. While all 134 Air National Guard C-130Hs require propulsion system upgrades, currently only 34 are actually funded for this upgrade.

Despite its age, the C-130H clearly still has considerable utility for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, while the Litening pod integration, if successful, could yet provide an important and wide-ranging advance in the tactical capabilities of this, and potentially other airlifters.

Legion Infrared Search And Track Pod