Q+A CENTER
Latest question:
How do you think the new GigE standards will influence the machine vision industry?
Respond or ask your question now!
Advanced Imaging Magazine
Most Read
Most E-mailed
Print Article
Application Notes
Targeting Systems on Target In Iraq
A new pod system featuring state-of-the-art imaging technology is providing a key tactical advantage to pilots fighting in the skies over Iraq.
Lockheed Martin's Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod has been used in hundreds of missions in Iraq. U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. William R. Looney says the Sniper is "the greatest pod the world has ever seen and the greatest one the Air Force is flying today."
Ten of the U.S. Air Force Sniper pods were shipped to Lakenheath, England, and installed aboard Air Force F-15Es. These Sniper pods have flown in more than 450 missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"We have been able to maintain eight pods fully mission capable throughout this whole deployment, and most of the time all 10," says Looney. "They (pilots) are so in love with that capability, they don't want to go anywhere without a Sniper pod. There is no comparison between any other pod in the world and the capability that Sniper brings."
The Sniper pods feature a high-resolution, mid-wave third generation Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), a dual-mode laser and a CCD TV along with a laser spot tracker and a laser marker. The Sniper pod is used for long-range target detection and identification.
