Manufacturer catalog
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Northrop Grumman are jointly associated in public sources with the LITENING airborne targeting-pod family: Rafael developed the original Israeli LITENING work, and Northrop Grumman became the U.S. prime contractor and upgrade provider for AN/AAQ-28 LITENING configurations.
1 weaponsThe Rafael-Northrop Grumman pairing is most important for LITENING, an externally mounted electro-optical/infrared pod family used for target detection, identification, laser designation, laser ranging, reconnaissance support, and datalink-enabled imagery workflows. U.S. Air Force material traces LITENING I to Rafael's Missiles Division in Haifa and says Northrop Grumman teamed with Rafael in 1995 for further development.
Northrop Grumman describes current LITENING variants as modular targeting pods for precision targeting, close air support, surveillance, air superiority, and humanitarian-assistance missions, while Rafael markets Litening as a multispectral airborne targeting and navigation pod operated day and night and in adverse weather. The relationship therefore represents a program-level industrial pairing rather than a separate incorporated company.
Northrop Grumman describes LITENING as an electro-optical/infrared targeting pod for target detection, identification, tracking, precision targeting, surveillance, and close air support; Rafael presents the current Litening family as a multispectral airborne targeting and navigation pod.
Sources: Northrop Grumman LITENING, Rafael Litening, U.S. Air Force LITENING fact sheet
The Air Force fact sheet says LITENING II followed Rafael's original LITENING work and the 1995 Northrop Grumman teaming arrangement, with initial U.S. fielding on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command F-16s in 1999.
Sources: U.S. Air Force LITENING fact sheetThe U.S. Air Force says LITENING I was developed for the Israeli Air Force at Rafael's Missiles Division in Haifa and that Northrop Grumman teamed with Rafael in 1995 for further development.
Sources: U.S. Air Force LITENING fact sheet
The Air Force fact sheet states that LITENING II was initially fielded with Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command F-16s in 1999 and used a 256 FLIR before later ER and AT upgrades.
Sources: U.S. Air Force LITENING fact sheet
The same Air Force source says later image-processing improvements led to the LITENING AT configuration, which began fielding in 2003 and became the standard configuration for U.S. forces.
Sources: U.S. Air Force LITENING fact sheet
Northrop Grumman's LITENING datasheet describes a mature pod fleet with more than 920 pods delivered, more than three million total operating hours, and upgrade paths including color video, datalinks, and Large Aperture configurations.
Sources: Northrop Grumman LITENING datasheet
Public sources identify Rafael's Israeli LITENING development and Northrop Grumman's U.S. prime-contractor, production, and upgrade roles; they do not describe the pairing as a separately incorporated joint venture.
Category
Transport, logistics, recovery, command, engineering, and other enabling equipment.