The Air Force has chosen both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to provide upgraded versions of their respective Sniper and Litening targeting pods through 2017. Under the Advanced Targeting Pod-Sensor Enhancement program, the Air Force intends to purchase up to 670 pods combined from both companies during that period. For that purpose, it has entered into an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract arrangement with both suppliers that has a total potential value of $2.3 billion, if all options are exercised. Lockheed stated in a release Wednesday that it has won a 60-percent work share and Northrop’s own release indicates that it is eligible for 40 percent of the potential pod sales. Both companies said they have received initial task orders worth roughly $25 million apiece for testing their new sensor enhancement configurations.
The Space Force's first planned satellite launch to begin a new missile warning constellation in medium-Earth orbit has slipped from late 2026 to spring 2027 as a key component remains unproven. But the service is making progress and moving forward with plans for new batches of satellites, the Guardian in charge…
