TORNADO TRIALS
The UK Royal Air Force is conducting an operational assessment of the Rafael Litening III targeting pod, after flying the sensor for the first time on a Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft. Ultra Electronics is integrating the system, which has been modified with a new air-to-surface datalink for the UK, under an urgent operational requirement. Initial flight trials of the Litening III have also been conducted with the RAF's Eurofighter Typhoon, with 20 pods on order under a £56 million ($110 million) deal.
JORDAN UPGRADE
Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) has started work on a project to modernise 17 ex-US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters for the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Deliveries of the service's 12 TAI-modified aircraft - the first two of which have been dismantled before entering upgrade work - are scheduled to run from October, with its remaining examples to be upgraded in Jordan. The Turkish company is also involved in parallel F-16 upgrade projects contracted last year by the Pakistani and Turkish air forces.
Source: Flight International
