Airborne Laser Test Bed

(From left to right) Lt. Col. Jeff Warmka, Airborne Laser Test Bed Combined Test Force director, Doug Canning, ALTB CTF test conductor, Barry St. Germain, Boeing pilot, and Roc White, ALTB CTF test conductor, step to the ALTB aircraft Feb. 14 before starting engines for its final flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rob Densmore)

With the Moon serving as a backdrop for the YAL-1A Airborne Laser Test Bed aircraft Feb. 14, the aircraft's nose displays the accomplishments it had while it was tested at Edwards AFB, Calif. During its tenure here, the ALTB successfully engaged various instrumented rockets and successfully engaged and destroyed a boosting solid-fueled Terrier Black Brant rocket and a boosting liquid-fueled Foreign Military Acquisition missile in February 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rob Densmore)

The YAL-1A Airborne Laser Test Bed aircraft departs off Runway 22L at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in order to make its final low approach over the Birk Flight Test Facility Feb. 14 before heading to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The ALTB, which was at Edwards for more than nine years, was a modified Boeing 747-400 Freighter that housed two solid-state lasers and a megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser that could use directed energy as a viable technology against ballistic missiles. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rob Densmore)

The YAL-1A Airborne Laser Test Bed aircraft flys over Rogers Dry Lakebed for its final low approach over Edwards Air Force Base before taking a ferry flight to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., on Feb. 14. Once the aircraft lands at Davis-Monthan AFB, the ALTB will be processed into storage at the Air Force’s Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbi Zapka)

US Air National Guard Deploys to Afghanistan With LITENING G4 Pods

Rolling Meadows IL (SPX) Feb 10, 2012

The LITENING G4 pod targeting and surveillance system provides unsurpassed imagery.

Northrop Grumman's LITENING G4 advanced targeting pod recently embarked on its first combat deployment with the Air National Guard on A-10 and F-16 Block 30 aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Air National Guard will use the LITENING G4 pod's advanced capabilities to complete their demanding mission in a wide range of conditions while in theater.

The LITENING G4 pod targeting and surveillance system provides unsurpassed imagery using 1K forward-looking infrared (FLIR), 1K charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, and wider field of view and enhanced zoom which deliver more accurate target identification and location at longer ranges for battlefield conditions than previous generations of the LITENING targeting pods systems.

"LITENING G4 provides the Air National Guard with the cutting-edge targeting technology they need to give them the advantage," said Jim Mocarski, vice president of the LITENING program at Northrop Grumman.

"G4's 1K sensors and laser imaging allow the warfighter to see targets that would have been undetected with earlier targeting systems."

Since its introduction in 1999, the LITENING system has fielded four spiral upgrades to ensure continued improvement in combat performance in an ever-changing battlespace.

LITENING G4 is the fifth step in the evolution of the LITENING family and applies the latest in sensor technology to achieve unprecedented levels of target detection, recognition and identification ranges.