AWST Editor flight test Enhanced Lantirn System on a RNLAF
F-16
This Aviation Week & Space Technology editor had an
opportunity to see the enhanced Lantirn targeting pod's
capabilities during a Dutch F-16 flight at Naval Air Facility El
Centro in southern California. The RNLAF had deployed seven F-16s
to NAF El Centro for approximately 10 weeks, then rotated in crews
for two weeks at a time. When I flew, pilots from RNLAF 313 Sqdn.
and 315 Sqdn. were onsite, and most were there for concentrated
Lantirn and night-vision-goggles (NVG) training.
"We come to El Centro because it has nice weather and we can get
procedural training on Lantirn pods and NVGs in a short time," said
Maj. Patrick (Spout) Tuit, a 322 Sqdn. flight commander at
Leeuwarden AB, Netherlands, and reception team leader for the
California deployment. Each pilot typically flew at least three day
and two night missions at El Centro. Normally, 24 sorties were
flown daily.
"FOR OUR FIGHTER PILOTS, El Centro is a dream come true," Tuit
said. "It has a lot of ranges [nearby], and the good weather
[means] that, if the jets are working, you will fly and you will
get the training. In [a few] weeks, we can get a pilot targeting
pod-qualified. That's a big thing for us."
Four Lantirn pods were available, all equipped with CCD TV cameras,
but none had the 40,000-ft. laser system. High-altitude lasers were
not necessary for missions near El Centro, where terrain elevation
ranges from sea level to about 4,000 ft. Since then, all RNLAF
targeting pods have had 40,000-ft. laser designators/rangefinders
installed.
"If you want to stay 13,000-16,000 ft. above mountainous, high
terrain--to stay above small-arms fire--the 40,000-ft. laser is
nice to have," said Lt. Col. A.J. (Vidal) De Smit, a former flight
commander for 322 Sqdn. "The [Lantirn] pod can track targets at any
altitude, but [with the original 25,000-ft. laser system] you go
above 25,000 ft. and the pod kills your laser. That's a concern for
pilots when reacting to a threat. That concern has been taken away
now. The 40,000-ft. laser gives a pilot more flexibility of
operation," he said. Last year, De Smit was transferred to the
Joint Strike Fighter program office in Washington, where he now
serves as the F-35 Interoperability and Coalition Warfare
representative.
Over the past 15 years, I had flown Lantirn missions on USAF test
and operational F-16s, the F-15E and a Navy F-14, and had seen the
system's capabilities improve steadily with each refinement. But
the RNLAF's Lantirn version was the first with a CCD TV system
installed. In 2000, I'd evaluated the Litening system during a USAF
Reserve F-16 flight, and knew that a TV camera was a significant
targeting asset during daylight operations, when the Sun's heat
tends to wash out Flir images. That impression was strengthened by
seeing how the RNLAF has capitalized on Lantirn's combination of
CCD TV camera and Flir system to deliver precision weapons.
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