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.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
