Northrop Completes Litening Upgrade: Northrop Grumman has completed integration of new targeting, acquisition, and tracking capabilities into all of the 189 US-fielded Litening targeting pods. The upgrade—Litening Advanced Targeting—is part of a major initiative to equip cutting edge forward-looking infrared radar and image processing capabilities on USAF’s A-10, B-52, F-15E, F-16, and US Navy’s AV-8 and F/A-18.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.