A new hand held targeting system developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) that will enable soldiers to engage targets with precision munitions while providing digital connectivity to related military units has successfully completed developmental testing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The evaluation of the company’s Hand Held Precision Targeting Device, or HHPTD, was conducted by the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, in partnership with the Army Program Executive Office’s Project Manager Soldier Sensors and Lasers and demonstrated the targeting device’s effectiveness in varying terrain and temperatures, ideal conditions for enabling the accurate gauging of the technology’s capabilities. Details about the test are accessible from the U.S. Army website.
Northrop Grumman’s Laser Systems business unit is delivering the HHPTDs to support in-theater operations of Department of Defense personnel. The device locates, acquires, designates, marks and enables rapid target engagement with precision munitions and digital connectivity to the Joint Forces engaged in conflicts. The celestial navigation technology integrated in the system delivers improved robustness despite local magnetic variations and Global Positioning System (GPS) degraded or denied environments.
“This system is a lightweight, precision targeting device that addresses the targeting accuracy needed by our warfighters to help deliver today’s precision GPS munitions in all operational environments,” said Gordon Stewart, vice president and general manager, Laser Systems business unit, Northrop Grumman. “We have been uniquely successful in producing precision targeting enhancements to our systems through the use of celestial navigation technology.”
Northrop Grumman Laser Systems has developed the HHPTD and a family of hand held laser target location systems tailored to meet mission requirements in collaboration with FLIR Systems in Goleta, California, General Dynamics GIT in Nashua, New Hampshire, and Wilcox Industries in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The HHPTD weighs approximately five pounds and includes an internal high definition color day and thermal night vision sensor, an eye-safe laser rangefinder, a GPS receiver and internal magnetic and celestial navigation technologies. The system is compatible with external precision azimuth and vertical angle modules and provides precision target location information with digital video output, and digital communication for target location data, plus a capability for a near infrared laser pointer.
A world leader in the manufacture of military electro-optical targeting systems, Northrop Grumman Laser Systems has fielded thousands of portable, lightweight targeting and laser systems for ground troops and ground vehicles, as well as airborne laser rangefinders and designators fielded onboard many of the most sophisticated manned and unmanned aircraft.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information
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