THREE BIDDERS have declared their intentions to compete in a fly-off to equip the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18 strike aircraft with an upgraded night navigation and targeting sensor.
A team composed of the USA's Northrop Grumman and Israel's Rafael is expected to compete against Lockheed Martin and Hughes Aircraft for the right to equip F-18E/Fs and refit some F-18C/Ds with a third-generation forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) and laser-designator pod.
Northrop and Rafael are already working to upgrade the Litening pod for the fly-off, to be conducted by MDC. The two companies are working under a teaming agreement under which the US company will be the prime contractor for Litening systems sold to the US Department of Defense, or through US foreign-military-sales channels, while Rafael will lead on sales in other regions.
The US company will produce electronics for the Litening, including the new FLIR sensor, while Rafael provides the front-mounted sensor package, but final assembly and integration will be handled by whichever company is acting as prime contractor.
Before the fly-off, the revised pod is already being integrated on to an Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16, with flight testing due in mid-year. Orders for a dozen Litening pods for Israeli air force F-16s are in prospect and, with total contract options, procurement could rise to more than 60. The Litening is said to be compatible with other aircraft, including the MDC F-15 and AV-8B.
Lockheed Martin declines to provide information on its competitor, dubbed the Sniper. Hughes Aircraft says only that its Terminator II third-generation FLIR is based on the Terminator I testbed system.
The new system would replace a navigation pod made by Hughes Aircraft and the Lockheed Martin AAS-38B Nite Hawk targeting FLIR system, which is now deployed on the US Navy's F-18C/D Hornet strike aircraft.
Source: Flight International
