DCS: A-10C. Обсуждение (original) (raw)

Это просто лазерная указка или что-то типа "Сапсана"?

Это достаточно продвинутый девайс умеющий работать как в оптическом диапазоне, так и в ИК. Лазерный дальномер-целеуказатель прилагается.

LITENING airborne laser target designator and navigation pod

Date Posted: 13-Jul-2004

Type

Electro Optic (EO) Laser Designation Pod (LDP).

Description

LITENING is a multipurpose, day/night, precision laser targeting and navigation pod originally conceived and developed for fighter aircraft by the Rafael Armament Development Authority of Israel during the early 1990s. After Rafael conduced an agreement with Northrop Grumman for further co-development and production of the system in 1998, the first US variant was designated LITENING II, or AN/AAQ-28(V)2, with later variants following this nomenclature. While the original LITENING design, fielded by the Israeli Air Force during the mid-1990s, incorporated a mechanically scanned Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR), all subsequent variants incorporate a staring array MWIR FLIR, Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) TV, Laser Spot Tracker/Range Finder (LST/RF), laser marker and multifunction tracker (area, inertial, correlation). An on-gimbal Inertial Navigation Sensor (INS) has a stabilised Line of Sight (LoS) and automatic boresight capability.

All sensors are fixed relative to each other, providing for good operational boresight retention. The INS stabilises the line-of-sight and automatically aligns the pod boresight to the aircraft INS, making mechanical boresighting unnecessary. The pod front section has an integral compressor that maintains a minimum atmospheric pressure, allowing the laser designator to operate at altitudes up to 50,000 ft. Modular design of software facilitates aircraft integration.

These components of the LITENING system provide the following capabilities:

* The high-resolution FLIR provides a day/night attack capability

* The CCD TV is designed to enhance the stand-off capability of the system during daylight operations

* The FLIR's wide field of view provides a HUD-compatible display for low-altitude navigation

* The laser spot tracker provides the system with the capability to track laser spots from a second laser source (either ground-based or `buddy lasing'), while the laser marker allows the pod to illuminate targets (at approximately 0.8 µm) for co-operative attack by forces equipped with Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) which are sensitive in the 0.6 to 0.9 µm waveband.

The INS and software design is optimised to permit easy integration in a wide variety of modern military aircraft, such as the AV-8B, F-4, F-5, F-15 and F-16, as well as the Jaguar, Mirage 2000, Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon.

Northrop Grumman and Rafael have integrated many improvements to the baseline LITENING II system since initial contract award for the US Marine Corps, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command in 1998, resulting in the LITENING ER and AT variants (as shown below).

LITENING ER - AN/AAQ-28(V)3

LITENING ER incorporates a 640 × 512 pixel FLIR camera, which is claimed to improve target tracking and recognition ranges by 30 per cent, enabling the target acquisition portion of the system to more closely match the standoff capability of the high-power laser and extended release ranges of modern laser-guided weaponry.

Further extending the capabilities of the system, during January 2003, Northrop announced the successful modification of a LITENING ER pod to enable a datalink between a US Marine Corps AV-8B aircraft and a ground station for a Pioneer UAV. Modifications involved mounting a Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE) data/video link transmitter, compatible with the Pioneer UAV system in the pod, along with a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) transmit antenna. Operational evaluation flights of the AV-8B aircraft equipped with the modified LITENING pod were conducted at the US Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona, where cockpit imagery from the pod was successfully relayed to a Pioneer ground station via the GFE transmitter.

LITENING AT - AN/AAQ-28(V)4

The latest variant of the system, designated LITENING AT (Advanced Targeting), a further development of LITENING ER, incorporates an improved 640 × 512 pixel FLIR, new circuitry and algorithms designed to extend target detection range and improve Target Co-ordinate Generation (TCG) accuracy to support J-Class GPS-guided munitions, together with enhanced image processing capabilities, multitarget cueing and improved air-to-air performance.

LITENING AT also includes provision for a diode-pumped NdYag dual-wavelength (operational/eyesafe) laser to increase laser energy and improve designation range, while also providing safe training.

Specifications

(LITENING AT)

Dimensions: 2,200 (L) × 406 mm (D)

Weight: 200 kg

FLIR FPA

picture elements: 640 × 512

FoV:

(narrow) 1.0 × 1.0º

(medium) 4.0 × 4.0º

(wide) 24 × 24º

CCD camera

picture elements: 768 × 494

FoV:

(narrow) 1.0 × 1.0º

(wide) 3.5 × 3.5º

Laser designator and range-finder

Energy: 100 MJ per pulse

Non-firing training mode incorporated

Trackers: advanced correlator/inertial laser spot search and track

Gimbals:

(fields of regard) +45 to -150º pitch; ±400º roll

(stabilisation) 10 µrad

Flight envelope: (at low altitude) M1.2; (manoeuvre) 9 g

Cooling: Self-contained environmental control unit

Operational status

AN/AAQ-28(V)1 LITENING

No longer in production, in service.

AN/AAQ-28(V)2 LITENING II

No longer in production, in service.

AN/AAQ-28(V)3 LITENEING ER

No longer in production, in service.

AN/AAQ-28(V)4 LITENING AT

In production and in service.

Rafael has supplied LITENING to several nations and integrated it with the following aircraft:

* German IDS Tornados, as part of the Mid Life Update (MLU) programme carried out by EADS Deutschland for the German Air Force and Navy.

* Indian Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft.

* Israeli F-16C/D Block 30 and Block 40 aircraft.

* Romanian MiG-21, as part of the Lancer upgrade programme.

* Venezuelan F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft.

* Greek F-4 aircraft, as part of the EADS MLU.

* Italian Navy AV-8B Harrier II aircraft (LITENING II).

* Spanish Navy AV-8B Harrier II aircraft (LITENING II).

In the case of the German Tornado MLU, the 36 pods (20 for the Air Force and 16 for the Navy) were fitted with electro-optical systems provided by Zeiss Optronik GmbH.

Turning to US activity, in August 1998, Northrop Grumman and Rafael were awarded an initial contract worth nearly US$18 million to supply LITENING II targeting pods to the US Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the US Air National Guard (ANG) for use on F-16 aircraft, where it was designated the Precision Attack Targeting System (PATS). The initial contract was for eight pods to achieve initial operating capability by March 2000. Qualification tests were flown at Edwards AFB, California, in late 1999, with operational test and evaluation occurring in early 2000. The initial order involved a total of 168 LITENING II pods for AFRC/ANG F-16 C/D aircraft, with first deliveries made to the 457th Fighter Squadron, AFRC in February 2000.

LITENING II saw operational service with the ANG over Afghanistan in 2002, where accuracy and, importantly, reliability were reported to have been impressive, particularly when compared with older LANTIRN systems (see separate entry).

Integration of the LITENING ER pod was carried out for the US Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier II in August 2001 and for the US Air Force's F-16 in January 2002. During July 2002, a LITENING ER-equipped A-10 made eight successful flights at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, in support of a precision engagement risk reduction operational utility evaluation. The integration required no changes to the aircraft's existing software. A `smart' cable, connecting the pod to the aircraft, allowed full functionality with only minor updates to the LITENING software. Following the flights, the A-10 deployed to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it used laser-guided weapons and participated in the Joint Experimental Force Experiment.

Integration of LITENING ER with more platforms followed in November 2002 (F-15E), with an order for 24 pods, worth US$32.6 million, following in March 2003. Integration of LITENING ER on the B-52H Stratofortress was announced in April 2003, with an order for 12 LITENING AT systems, made in April 2004, awaiting funding approval.

During January 2003, initial demonstration flights of LITENING ER onboard a US Navy F/A-18D Hornet aircraft were carried out at the Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland, building on techniques employed by the Spanish Air Force on their EF-18s. During the demonstrations, the pod successfully tracked targets using both CCD TV and FLIR sensors. During March 2004, the USMC replicated this effort for their F/A-18Ds.

LITENING AT successfully completed initial evaluation at the end of 2002, with additional testing scheduled for March 2003 as part of an incremental update/test process. During March 2003, Northrop Grumman announced the first US Air Force contract to upgrade ANG LITENING pods to AT configuration. The US$19.7 million contract for ANG F-16 aircraft provided for the retrofit of 45 LITENING II and 19 LITENING ER pods to AT status, with options for additional upgrades. By March 2004, the first four production LITENING AT systems and upgrade kits, together with 14 additional systems had been delivered. Subsequently, the ANG awarded Northrop Grumman a separate US$10.3 million contract for a further eight LITENING AT pods. At the same time, Northrop announced that, as part of a USMC contract worth some US$40.3 million, the first ten LITENING AT systems of a total order for 20 pods, spares and support, combined with the retrofit of 47 ER pods, had been delivered.

Also during March 2004, Northrop announced its support for an initiative by the US Navy's F/A-18 Programme Office at the Patuxent Naval Air Station to integrate LITENING AT onboard USMC F/A-18 Hornets.

To date, over 248 LITENING pods of all variants have been ordered by US and other air forces.

Contractors

Rafael Armament Development Authority, Missiles Division.

Northrop Grumman, Electronic Systems Sector, Defensive Systems Division.

http://www.waronline.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2060&start=50&sid=c0387548e993977645f0133b7e7ca538

Edited February 11, 2009 by Chizh