a fighter F / A-18 Super Hornet of the US Navy flew for the first time with a Litening ATP (Advanced Targeting Pod) pod. The pod is an array of electro-optical sensors, used primarily for surveillance, aiming and targeting for bombs and missiles.
According to Northrop Grumman, which markets the pod in the United States, the Navy has successfully completed the first test flights of Litening integrated into an F/A-18F Super Hornet. In the image released by the company, the cocoon is seen on the central hanger of the naval fighter.
"This first flight demonstrated Litening's ability to quickly add modern, upgradable mission capabilities to the Super Hornet," said James Conroy, Northrop Grumman's vice president of navigation, targeting and survivability.
“The pod's digital video, autonomous target tracking and laser sensors will give naval aviators an entirely new set of capabilities for land and sea operations today, and the growth capabilities built into Litening's modular design ensure the pod can evolve to meet changing requirements.”
During the flight, the F/A-18 pilots performed maneuvers and operations representative of combat missions, including ground-moving target tracking, air-to-air tracking and target assignment.
Pilots also engaged the eye-safe training laser mode, which allows the pod to be used for realistic training with combat controllers on the ground. Pilots were able to perform these operations without prior training, showing the ease of use made possible by close collaboration with the aviation community.
Despite already being in service in several countries, including Brazil and the United States itself, the Litening pod is not yet used on the Super Hornet, the main fighter of the US Navy.
The pod was selected earlier this year to replace the AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Tactical Forward Looking Infrared) due to concerns about maintenance cost and hardware readiness.
Litening has logged more than 3 million operational hours and more than 1 million combat hours, allowing aircrews to detect, acquire, identify and track targets over long ranges with an uptime rate of over 95%.
With information Northrop Grumman e The Aviationist
