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Article: Air Force to Select Advanced Targeting Pod.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Defense
- Article date:
- July 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 National Defense Industrial Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Third generation forward-looking infrared needed for high-altitude strikes
The U.S. Air Force plans to upgrade its F-16 and F-15 fighters with new instrumentation and sensor pods that would bolster their ability to strike moving targets with laser-guided bombs from high altitudes.
The goal is to replace the 30-year-old technology currently in use--the low-altitude navigation targeting infrared night pods, known as Lantirn. Systems such as Lanrirn use forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagers and lasers to help aircrews accurately deliver precision-guided bombs.
"When the Lantirn pod was conceived, it was a low-level attack capability We flew it ...