Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday that its LITENING precision targeting and sensor systems, currently deployed onboard Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft, have achieved 500,000 operational hours (with more than 250,000 of those hours having come about on combat missions. To date, more than 400 pods have been ordered and more than 360 fielded on the A-10, B-52, F-15E, F-16, and Marine Corps AV-8Bs and F/A-18Cs.
More stealthy U.S. fighter jets moved closer to the Middle East on Feb. 9, with a half dozen F–35A Lightning II fifth-generation planes landing at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., after crossing the Atlantic, flight tracking data and air traffic control communications show.
