Litening

The LITENING target lighting container is a precision target lighting container for combat aircraft. With its swiveling sensor head, the container is able to detect targets over long distances at night and in bad weather and to illuminate them with a laser beam for guided weapons ( laser-guided bombs , JDAM or rocket-propelled guided missiles). The container was made by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. developed and produced. Over 1000 containers have now been produced.

LITENING target light container on an F / A-18C "Hornet" operated by the USMC.

variants

Rafael Litening Generation I: This first target light container was manufactured in 1992 by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. developed for the Israeli Air Force (IASF) . He still had a first generation thermal imaging device (FLIR) .

Rafael Litening Generation II: This is an improved variant for use on F-16C / D of the IASF, which was introduced from 1995.

Rafael Litening Generation III / Northrop Grumman AN / AAQ-28 (V): This is an improved variant for use on American F-16, F-15, B-1, AV-8 and western combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter, Tornado, Gripen and others. This variant was developed in 1995 and then marketed in cooperation with Rafael. A sub-variant has had a third-generation thermal imaging head with a resolution of 640 × 512 pixels and a laser target marker since 2001. This is also known as Litening ER.