Northrop Grumman has been awarded a post-production support contract by the U.S. Air Force.

Under the terms of this five-year-delivery, indefinite quantity contract Northrop Grumman will provide the LITENING targeting pod program with G4 upgrade kits, updated Operational Flight Programs, integration and flight tests with the F-16 Block 30, F-16 Block 40/50, A-10C, F-15E, B-52 and B-1 aircraft, along with other studies and analysis.

"The U.S. Air Force appreciates Northrop Grumman's assistance providing and supporting the LITENING Block 1 and G4 pods for the Air Combat Command, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command," said Kristopher Peterson, U.S. Air Force Precision Attack Branch Lead.

"We have seen tremendous results and testimonials on LITENING performance from the field."

"This contract will give the U.S. Air Force the latest in targeting pod technology by upgrading the fleet of LITENING pods to the G4 configuration," said Jim Mocarski, vice-president of the LITENING program at Northrop Grumman.

"It also provides the vehicle for future upgrades that will keep them combat mission-relevant for years to come."

The LITENING G4 pod targeting and surveillance system provides unrivaled imagery using 1K forward-looking infrared (FLIR), 1K charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, and wider field of view and enhanced zoom which deliver accurate target identification at longer ranges for battlefield conditions than previous generations of the LITENING targeting pods systems.

Since its introduction in 1999, the LITENING system has fielded four spiral upgrades to ensure continued combat relevance in an ever-changing battlespace.

LITENING G4 is the fifth step in the evolution of the LITENING family and applies the latest in sensor technology to achieve unprecedented levels of target detection, recognition and identification ranges.