Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has announced today that it has been awarded a contract for an undisclosed amount to supply 5th generation Litening and RecceLite airborne electro-optical systems to and undisclosed air force for installation on to an undisclosed combat aircraft.

Integrated with Rafael’s pods, the unidentified jet type will now have “combat-proven, stand-off capabilities” using the Litening 5 multi-spectral airborne targeting pod. The company adds that the Litening 5 delivers real-time, forward-looking infrared (FLIR+SWIR) and day HD color camera imagery, with its high-resolution sensors and effective EO/IR design enabling operations at “significant stand-off ranges”.

It adds that 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.

British Royal Air Force Tornado with Litening pod (Photo: Gareth Burgess)

Meanwhile, Rafael’s RecceLite ISR system allows the user aircraft to “perform target search using advanced tools and other smart algorithms at the interpretation ground station, for efficient detection, tracking and sensor-to-shooter closure.”

German Tornado jet with Reccelite pod (Photo: German Air Force)

It adds that intelligence data gathered is relayed in real-time and mission execution can be performed in “near-real-time”. The Litening pod is integrated on 25 different platforms in use with 27 global air forces while RecceLite has been delivered to 13 customers world-wide, the latter in Europe, the Far East and South America.

The users of the Litening include the Royal Australian Air Force, which is using older versions of the pod on board its F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet fighters and C-130J Hercules airlifters, the latter on a trials basis, and Singapore, whose pods are fitted to some of its F-16s.

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