Northrop Grumman delivered its first batch of 50 Litening G4 advanced targeting pods to the Air Force, according to a company release. The latest in the Litening series, the G4 pod is capable of fixing targets from farther away, offering a broader field of vision and improved zoom characteristics over previous marks. The pod is a “significant technological leap, enhancing the F-16’s combat capability, while reducing pilot workload,” stated Maj. Evans Boeve, targeting pod program manager with the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center in Tucson, Ariz. In addition to new-build G4 pods, customers may choose to retrofit the G4’s updated data links, sensors, and imaging capability on previous generations of Litening pods, according to the company. The lot 1 G4 deliveries were part of a $277.8 million contract.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…