Northrop Grumman reports it is upgrading AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING Advanced Targeting Systems used on U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft.
The AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING is a multi-sensor system in a pod that enables pilots to detect, acquire, auto-track and identify targets.
Northrop Grumman said the upgrade will bring new sensor, laser imaging and data link technology capabilities to existing systems. Among them are 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," the company said.
Northrop Grumman has so far delivered some 700 LITENING systems to the Air Force and Marine Corps and to eight foreign customers. The upgrade will be performed under an existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract and is worth $116 million, the company said.
