U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman has announced on Tuesday that it has received a $17.6 million award from the U.S. Army to upgrade Target Locator Modules (TLMs).
The TLMs will be retrofitted with high accuracy capability to modernize the Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder 2H (LLDR 2H) man-portable targeting system.
“The LLDR has been at the core of Army ground targeting for more than a decade, and the innovations in the 2H provide even greater accuracy to support the Army’s missions into the future,” said Bob Gough, vice president, land and avionics C4ISR, Northrop Grumman.
The LLDR 2H hybrid sensor solution fuses data from a digital magnetic compass and celestial navigation sensors to provide high accuracy target location and long-range imaging to allow warfighters greater leverage to shape the field of engagement. Interconnectivity within the digitized battlefield enables the operator to use LLDR 2H to quickly acquire, locate and designate high-value targets.
The LLDR 2H system also features Northrop Grumman’s patented thermal diode pumping technology for designation, which consumes less power than older lasers, yet yields greater output energy and lower beam divergence.
More than 2,700 LLDR systems have been delivered and fielded to date.
