Rafael Wins Contract to Supply 5th Gen Litening, RecceLite Pods to Undisclosed Customer
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has been awarded a contract to supply fifth-generation Litening and RecceLite airborne electro-optical pod systems for an undisclosed customer.
These pods will be integrated onto a combat aircraft operated by the customer’s air force providing it with combat-proven, stand-off capabilities.
Rafael recently announced a contract to supply its 5th gen Litening-5 and RecceLite systems to equip Leonardo’s M-346FA light combat aircraft.
Litening 5
The Litening 5 multi-spectral airborne targeting pod delivers real-time, forward-looking infrared (FLIR+SWIR) and day HD color camera imagery. Its high-resolution sensors and effective EO/IR design ensure reliable operation at significant stand-off ranges.
Litening 5 allows the operation of all types of air-to-surface smart weaponry, such as laser-guided, GPS-guided and EO/IR imaging-guided munition.
The Litening 5 pod is in use by 27 air forces and carried by over 25 platforms globally. The pods are certified to be carried by over 25 platforms, including F-16, F-15, AV8B, F-18, F-4, F-5, A-10, B-52, Jaguar, LCA, AMX, Mirage 2000, Tornado, Typhoon, MiG-21, MiG-27, M346, KC-390, Gripen, Su-27, and Su-30.
They have logged over 2 million flight hours, with more than two-thirds in contingency operations worldwide.
RecceLite ISR
With the RecceLite ISR system, an aircraft will be able to perform target search, using advanced AI, ATR (Automatic Target Recognition) at the interpretation ground station, and other smart algorithms for efficient detection, tracking, and sensor-to-shooter closure.
Using its advanced ISR, image processing, and artificial intelligence, the system achieves optimal data-exploitation at the ground station, of intelligence data relayed in real-time and mission execution in near-real-time.
RecceLite has been delivered to 13 customers worldwide and integrated onto various aircraft, including the F-16, F-18, Jaguar, AMX, Tornado, Typhoon, Gripen, Heron TP, Reaper, and others. It is used by air forces in Europe, the Far East and South America.
