Within the air domain, we supply the precision targeting system laser for the F-35 combat aircraft, the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, the LITENING pod and the Apache helicopter’s M-TADS system. Additionally, as a founding member of Team Tempest – and now part of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) – Leonardo is currently developing advanced Electro-Optic/InfraRed (EO/IR) capabilities as part of the new aircraft’s Integrated Sensing and Non-Kinetic Effects (ISANKE) system.
For troops on the ground, Leonardo’s Type 163 Laser Target Designator (LTD) provides an unparalleled combination of high power, reliability and portability. It has been designed specifically to meet all of today’s special and conventional force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) and Joint Fires Observers (JFOs) mission requirements for marking and terminally controlling Semi-Active Air-to-Ground weapons accurately onto the target at ranges up to 10km. So far, 1,000 units are in operation with 29 nations around the world, including the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand, as well as NATO members such as Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Norway.
Leonardo’s expertise in this area will be increasingly critical in tomorrow’s battlespace, with Laser Directed Energy Weapons (LDEW) technology being a vital asset that enables forces to engage multiple threats at the speed of light with greater precision and lethality.
The company is a key member of the UK Dragonfire consortium, which has developed the UK’s first high-power military LDEW system. Leonardo is responsible for Dragonfire’s beam director, which provides the ultra-high precision pointing and tracking required for the LDEW system. During trials, the Dragonfire demonstrator has been highly successful, with pinpoint accuracy maintained at long ranges.
