Leonardo Aircraft and Lockheed Martin have signed a contract to equip the Kuwait Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon with Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP).
The contract covers 18 pods, integration and logistics support for the airforce's Typhoon swing-role fighter.
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Lockheed Martin missiles and fire control fixed-wing programme director Ken Fuhr said: “This contract marks the start of a successful relationship with the Eurofighter consortium to provide critical targeting capability worldwide.
“As a new Sniper ATP user, the Kuwait Air Force will see significant targeting benefits, including high-resolution imagery, advanced targeting modes, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”
Sniper ATP has the ability to detect, identify, automatically track and laser-designate small tactical targets at long ranges.
This targeting pod also supports employment of all laser-guided and GPS-guided weapons against multiple fixed and moving targets, Lockheed said in a statement.
Deliveries under the contract will begin in 2017.
Lockheed said that Sniper was recently upgraded to include two-colour laser spot tracking, Global Scope software / advanced non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR) modes and short-wave infrared.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is the ninth aircraft platform to be equipped with Sniper ATP, after variants of the F-15, F-16, F-18, A-10, B-1, B-52, F-2 and Harrier.
This beyond-visual-range, close air fighter aircraft with surface attack capability can fly at sustained speeds of over Mach 1 without the use of afterburner.
Image: A Eurofighter Typhoon swing-role fighter as seen from below. Photo: courtesy of Ronnie Macdonald.
