Function: Aircraft targeting and low-altitude navigation system.







Description: Designated as the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, LANTIRN is a system for use on the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C/D Falcon and the F-14 Tomcat. 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. The LANTIRN system consists of two externally mounted pods, an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod and a AN/AAQ-14.



The 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 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 AGM-65D imaging infrared Maverick missiles, and software for automatic target tracking. These features simplify the functions of target detection, recognition and attack and permit F-16 pilots to attack targets with precision-guided weapons on a single pass.







History: The research and development program began in September 1980 with Martin Marietta Corporation 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 on March 31, 1987.