Sniper Targeting Pods

[Mugwop]

In a recent address to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control employees in Orlando, FL, USAF Aeronautical Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. William R. Looney praised Lockheed Martin’s Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) following the system’s recent successful deployment in Iraq. Ten of the U.S. Air Force Sniper pods were shipped to Lakenheath, England, and installed aboard Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles. These Sniper pods have now flown in more than 450 missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Designed as an affordable precision targeting system in a single, lightweight pod, Sniper is fully compatible with the latest J-series munitions and precision-guided weaponry. The U.S. Air Force selected Lockheed Martin in August 2001 to develop and build the Sniper XR pod for its Advanced Targeting Pod program. The targeting pod has been undergoing integration on a variety of aircraft to include the F-15E, the F-16 Block 30/40/50, the A-10 and the F/A-18. The Sniper ATP program has achieved several major milestones, including the successful operational deployment and completion of Phase 1 Qualification Testing and Evaluation (QT&E) and Phase 1 Qualification Operational Testing and Evaluation (QOT&E) flight testing at Eglin AFB, FL; Nellis AFB, NV; and the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Test Center in Tucson, AZ.

New and enhanced capabilities of the Sniper pods include a high-resolution, mid-wave third-generation Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), along with a dual-mode laser that includes a laser spot tracker and a laser marker, and a CCD-TV. The Sniper pod greatly improves an aircraft’s long-range target detection and identification via advanced image processing algorithms, combined with special image stabilization techniques. ATP program goals included a geopointing capability 10 times more accurate than the 1980s technology LANTIRN pods, with triple the recognition range and twice the resolution. The ATP can acquire targets at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, for instance, versus the 25,000 feet typical of the last-generation LANTIRN pods.

These superior detection ranges are vital to pilots, helping keep them out of range of threat air defenses during their defining moments. Likewise, the supersonic, low-observable design results in a substantial reduction in drag and weight.

Maintainability is also enhanced. The Sniper XR pod was designed as a highly modular system that is partitioned into 39 lightweight line replaceable units (LRU). Traditionally, this type of LRU was replaced in base maintenance facilities or back shop as shop replaceable units. Through aggressive and innovative design efforts, these ruggedized LRUs are all flightline replaceable without the use of special tooling or support equipment. The Sniper XR’s BIT diagnostics system provides the maintainer the capability to fault isolate to these smaller, lighter LRUs and return them directly to depot level repair. This modular, two-level maintenance design contributes to lower life cycle costs.

“We have been able to maintain eight pods fully mission capable throughout this whole deployment, and most of the time all 10,” said General Looney. “They (pilots) are so in love with that capability, they don’t want to go anywhere without a Sniper pod. There is no comparison between any other pod in the world and the capability that Sniper brings.”

Finally, early 2006 improvements include full integration with the new ROVER system that lets troops on the ground transmit coordinates or even draw on digital maps, and have the results appear on the pilot’s map display as they talk.

Sniper pods are now flown on the U.S. Air Force F-15E and F-16 blocks 30/40/50, plus the A-10s incorporating the A-10C precision engagement upgrade program. In addition, Sniper is being integrated on the B-1 bomber external link.

On the export market, Norway (20, on F-16 A/Bs) and Poland (F-16 C/Ds) have already ordered the Precision Attack Navigation and Targeting (PANTERA) pod, now known as the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). Additional orders have since trickled in from Belgium (8, on F-16 A/Bs), Britain (GR9 Harrier IIs), Canada (36, on CF-18 F/A-18 A/Bs), Oman (F-16), Pakistan (F-16 C/D), Saudi Arabia (40, F-15S Strike Eagle), and Singapore (24, F-15SG Strike Eagles).

 

[Penguin]

A Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod hangs from the underbelly of a B-1B Lancer

 

[Jaga Badmash]

Can we use these PODS on our previously inducted and upgraded F16's?

 

[Imran Khan]

in paf hands

 

[Jaga Badmash]

in paf hands

Lala can we equip our old and upgraded F16s with these PODS?

 

[Imran Khan]

Lala can we equip our old and upgraded F16s with these PODS?

yes it can carry
here it is

Pakistan Expands Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod Fleet


ORLANDO, Fla., July 14, 2015 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) received a follow-on foreign military sale contract to produce and upgrade Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP) for the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 fleet. The contract includes the production of 15 Sniper ATPs and upgrades to the Pakistan Air Force’s existing 22 Sniper ATPs.

To meet the Pakistan Air Force’s urgent operational need, pod deliveries will begin in late 2015. Upgrades, which will increase compatibility with the aircraft and enable enhanced features, will also begin in late 2015.

“Sniper ATP has supported the Pakistan Air Force’s mission since 2010,” said Rich Lovette, Sniper international program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Additional Sniper ATPs and upgrades will give the Pakistan Air Force a more robust precision targeting capability to support the nation’s security requirements.”

Sniper ATP provides pilots high-resolution imagery for precision targeting, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Sniper ATP detects, identifies, automatically tracks and laser designates small tactical targets at long ranges. It also supports employment of all laser and GPS-guided weapons against multiple fixed and moving targets.

Sniper ATP is interoperable across multiple platforms, including U.S. Air Force and multi-national F-15, F-16, F-18, A-10, B-1 and B-52 aircraft.

For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/sniper.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 112,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2014 were $45.6 billion.