Air Force to Select Advanced Targeting Pod.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Brief Article

Third generation forward-looking infrared needed for high-altitude strikes

The U.S. Air Force plans to upgrade its F-16 and F-15 fighters with new instrumentation and sensor pods that would bolster their ability to strike moving targets with laser-guided bombs from high altitudes.

The goal is to replace the 30-year-old technology currently in use--the low-altitude navigation targeting infrared night pods, known as Lantirn. Systems such as Lanrirn use forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagers and lasers to help aircrews accurately deliver precision-guided bombs.

"When the Lantirn pod was conceived, it was a low-level attack capability We flew it at 200 or 300 feet. That is what was required under the doctrine of the Cold War," said Retired Air Force Gen. Lawrence F. Skantze. Today, the Air Force wants to be able to hit targets from 30,000 feet. That is not possible with Lantirn, which has a first-generation FUR, he said.

Satellite-guided bombs increasingly have become the weapon of choice for precision strike, but the Air Force still plans to continue using laser-guided weapons, because they are more effective against moving targets, for which precise satellite coordinates are difficult to obtain.

Skantze recently participated in a Defense Science Board panel that concluded that the Air Force and the Navy should pursue separate programs for an advanced targeting pod.

The Defense Department originally considered combining both programs. The Navy had begun, in 1997, the development of its advanced targeting FLIR (AT-FLIR) for the F/A-18. The service awarded a contract to the Raytheon Co. for the development of AT-FLIR, and the system now is beginning low-rate production. The Air Force, meanwhile, launched a separate program, called Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). It plans to award a contract this month.

There were several downsides to combining the two programs, said Skantze. The most significant one was that if the Navy had to terminate its contract with Raytheon, protests would result, and the Navy would be financially liable, he explained.

The Navy will spend about $1.8 billion for 574 AT-FLIR systems. This month, the Air Force plans to award a seven-year $260 million contract for 168 ATP units. Any system proposed for the ATP program must be already fully developed, the Air Force said. The plan is to buy 505 pods, each estimated to cost about $1.5 million.

Three companies are vying for the ATP award: Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control...