AN/AAQ-28(v) LITENING targeting system pod. (Photo: Northrop Grumman.)
Northrop Grumman on Thursday announced the Marine Corps chose to use the company to modernize LITENING data links for its Boeing F/A-18 A-D Hornet aircraft.
This specifically means the company will provide Advanced Tactical Data Links (ATDL) to the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) targeting pods. The company said the ATDL will facilitate faster transfer speeds for more rapid decision-making compared to previous waveforms.
Northrop Grumman noted the ATDL for the LITENING pod will be the first tactical aircraft data link to use the Bandwidth Efficient Common Data Link (BE-CDL) waveform, “which enables faster communications.”
ATDL will specifically replace the current Plug-and-Play II data link and can be added to any fourth generation or newer LITENING pods. It includes an updated processor, software-defined radio, wideband antenna and improved data recorder. The company said this includes G4, SE, LDP, Color and Large Aperture pod variants.
LITENING EO/IR targeting pods detect, acquire, identify and track targets at extended ranges. It facilitates missions including precision targeting, air superiority, close air support, surveillance and humanitarian assistance. The company boasted the pod’s modular design allows upgrades to keep up with mission needs.
“LITENING’s high-definition sensors on the advanced EO/IR targeting pod gather critical information, enabling more rapid decision making. The ATDL enhancement is like upgrading to better Wi-Fi by building on LITENING’s already proven data links, making live feeds immediately available on the ground – a critical capability in our modern environment,” James Conroy, vice president for navigation, targeting and survivability at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman said it has thus far delivered more than 900 LITENING pods to U.S. and international customers combined.
The company also noted this update comes after previous LITENING data link integrations like the NET-T, that operates like a secure airborne Wi-Fi router, Mobile Ad-hoc Networks and Freedom 550 radios to connect multiple users across various aircraft generations and domains.
The ATDL two-way multi-band link will allow transmission of video, still images on metadata, with operators in the air and on the ground both looking at the same live video feed at the same time.
In October, Northrop Grumman said the LITENING pod finished its initial flight testing on the newer Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, putting it through maneuvers representative of operational situations.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.
