Northrop Lands $1.3Bn USAF contract for work on Litening Pod.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $1.31 billion IDIQ contract for further work on the Litening pod, the US Department of Defense announced on December 21, 2018.

A Litening pod, like the grey cylinder attached to the bottom of this F-16 Fighting Falcon's fuselage, is an operational precision targeting pod system used with a wide variety of combat aircraft
(Courtesy photo)

This order concerns sustainment, modernization, production, and development of the Litening advanced targeting pod.  “Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2023,” the Pentagon stated.

The AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening pod is a self-contained, multi-sensor system designed to enable pilots to detect, acquire, auto-track and identify targets at extremely long ranges for weapon delivery or non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

Delivering the latest advancements in sensor, laser imaging and data link technology, the pod includes high-definition video, 1K forward-looking infrared, charge-coupled device sensors, short wave infrared laser imaging, colour symbology, tracker improvements and enhanced zoom.

Northrop Grumman has delivered more than 700 Litening pods to customers worldwide. The systems have accumulated more than 2 million operating hours.