THE GERMAN AIR force is to incorporate software for the Israeli Rafael Litening laser designator pod into its Tornado computer-upgrade programme.
The long-awaited move is a cautious decision in favour of the Litening pod for Germany's Tornado fleet, beating GEC-Marconi Defence Systems, with its thermal-imaging and laser-designation pod, Lockheed Martin with its low-altitude navigation and targeting infra-red for night pod and Thomson-CSF, offering its common laser designator pod.
Government sources say that the air force has stopped short of placing an order for the pod, because of doubts over the Israeli manufacturer's ability to meet development time-scales.
Rafael signed a co-operation agreement with German optics specialist Carl Zeiss in 1994, guaranteeing Zeiss logistics, repair and maintenance responsibilities for the German pods.
Source: Flight International
