LANTIRN

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Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, or LANTIRN, is a system for use on the USAF's premier fighter aircraft -- the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon (C & D models). LANTIRN significantly increases the combat effectiveness of these aircraft, allowing them to fly at low altitudes, at night and under-the-weather to attack ground targets with a variety of precision-guided and unguided weapons.

1 Features
2 Background
3 LANTIRN With The F-14 Tomcat
4 General Characteristics
5 Source
6 External links

[edit] Features

LANTIRN consists of a navigation pod and a targeting pod mounted externally beneath the aircraft.

The AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod provides high-speed penetration and precision attack on tactical targets at night and in adverse weather. The navigation pod also contains a terrain-following radar and a fixed infrared sensor, which provides a visual cue and input to the aircraft's flight control system, enabling it to maintain a pre-selected altitude above the terrain and avoid obstacles. This sensor displays an infrared image of the terrain in front of the aircraft, to the pilot, on a Head-Up Display. The navigation pod enables the pilot to fly along the general contour of the terrain at high speed, using mountains, valleys and the cover of darkness to avoid detection. The pod was the USAF's first wide-field, forward-looking infrared navigation system for air-superiority fighters.

The AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod contains a high-resolution, forward-looking infrared sensor (which displays an infrared image of the target to the pilot), a laser designator/rangefinder for precise delivery of laser-guided munitions, a missile boresight correlator for automatic lock-on of the AGM-65 Maverick imaging infrared missiles, and software for automatic target tracking. These features simplify the functions of target detection, recognition and attack and permit pilots of single-seat fighters to attack targets with precision-guided weapons on a single pass.

[edit] Background

The research and development program began in September 1980 with Martin Marietta Corp. (now Lockheed Martin, Inc.), Orlando, FL, as contractor. Initial operational test and evaluation of the LANTIRN navigation pod was successfully completed in December 1984. The Air Force approved low-rate initial production of the navigation pod in March 1985 and full-rate production in November 1986. The first production pod was delivered to the Air Force March 31, 1987. LANTIRN represented a major advance in the U.S. military's ability to carry out operations in darkness and adverse weather. In 1994, the U.S. Navy began looking for an interim solution for the lack of a deep strike platform after the retirement of the A-6 Intruders. The LANTIRN targeting system was chosen to be integrated with the F-14 Tomcat to give the plane a precision strike capability. Currently, the 2 remaining F-14 squadrons deploy the LANTIRN targeting pod.

[edit] LANTIRN With The F-14 Tomcat

Upon till the early 1990's, the F-14 Tomcat didn't have the ability to drop bombs, but with the cancellation of the A-6 Intruder getting closer the Navy needed a long range strike fighter to take up the space left by the A-6. At first the F-14 could only deploy "dumb bombs", and laser guided bombs only if the target was lased by another jet (first LGB drop in combat was made by VF-41 in 1995, but target was lased by an F/A-18). In late 1994 the LANTIRN was chosen to be the system used by the F-14 to deploy laser guided bombs. The F-14 community worked with a little budget integrated the digital pod with the analogue F-14A/B and in March 1995 a VF-103 test aircraft successfully dropped laser guided bombs. The results were stunning as the F-14 crew obtained better infra-red imagery and bomb accuracy then the USAF F-15E and F-16C. On June 14, 1996, VF-103 received the first LANTIRN pod.

The basic LANTIRN was modified into LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS), the navigation pod was removed from the two-pod system and the targeting pod was vastly improved for Tomcat use. The LTS featured a Global Positioning System and inertial measurement unit that provided the pod line-of-site cueing and weapon release ballistics. The RIO had a much larger display in his cockpit then the one to his equivalent Weapon systems officer in the USAF, which led to better magnification and target recognition.

Unlike the USAF version, the LTS performed all weapon release calculations and presented release cues that it had generated to the aircrew. The LTS also had a masking avoidance curve display and eventually a north orientation curve and 40 000 feet capable laser. The latter became very useful allowing F-14s to employ LGBs above potential threat systems and it came into its own in the higher terrain in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.

The LTS could also generate coordinates for any target located on the FLIR, and a latter software modification, known as T3 (Tomcat Tactical Targeting) increased the accuracy of the coordinates produced by the LTS and allowed generated coordinates for GPS/INS guided weapons (JDAM, JSOW and CBU-103 WCMD). The first combat use of this was in OEF when a F-14 generated coordinates for a B-52 that dropped CBU-103 WCMD (Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser), which is basically an INS-guided cluster bomb from over 40 000 feet. These weapons scored hits on a vehicle convoy that had stopped after the first vehicle had been destroyed by the Tomcat with LGB’s.

The pod features also an internal computer with ballistics data for the various precision munitions carried by the F-14. Data is fed to the pod by the Tomcat’s AWG-9 (F-14A). AWG-15 (F-14B) and AN/APG-71 (F-14D) radar, but the LTS in turn only sends video and guidance symbology to the crew's cockpit displays. This mean that few wiring and software changes had to be made to the Tomcat in order for it to operate the LTS. All pod controls are in the RIO’s cockpit but the bomb release button is situated with the pilot. The LTS cost around 3 million US Dollars a piece and due to hits high cost only 75 were bought for fleet use. Typically, an F-14 squadron brought 6 to 8 pods with them on cruise, which would be permanently fitted to the non-TARPS jets

The first combat use of the LTS was in December 1998 during Operation Desert Fox by VF-32.

[edit] General Characteristics

Primary function: Low altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night flying

Contractor: Lockheed Martin, Inc.

Length: Navigation pod, 78.2 in (1.99 m); targeting pod, 98.5 in (2.51 m)

Diameter: Navigation pod, 12 in (305 mm); targeting pod, 15 in (380 mm)

Weight: Navigation pod, 451.1 lb (204.6 kg); targeting pod, 530 lb (240.7 kg)

Aircraft: F-15E, F-16C/D, F-14A/B/D

Sensors: Infrared and terrain following radar sensors are on the navigation pod. Infrared and laser designator and ranging sensors are on the targeting pod

Introduction Date: March 1987

Unit Cost: Navigation pod, $1.38 million; targeting pod, $3.2 million