LITENING

Northrop Grumman LITENING pods are a series of electro-optical target acquisition and tracking pods, which mount on a wing pylon of a variety of aircraft. Their core capabilities are a forward-looking infrared/thermal imager (FLIR), low-light television (LLTV), laser rangefinder, infrared marker and laser designator.

It has gone through several generations, from LITENING II to ER to the current AT. Evolutionary technical steps have involved increasing the range and resolution of the FLIR and LLTV, and adding countermeasures resistance to the designators.

Aircraft equipped with versions of the pod include the AV-8B, A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-52, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-18 Hornet, and F-18 Super Hornet aircraft. User countries include Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United States.

Wing-mounted pods, however, are not stealthy, so the next generation of attack aircraft, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, have similar electro-optical technology, but mounted inside the fuselage, typically with optical apertures on the nose.