Non-Subscriber Extract
Royal Saudi Air Force prepares to receive Sniper ATPs
By Caitlin Harrington
18 June 2009
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) will soon be receiving Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs) under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract.
Lockheed Martin announced on 15 June that it has signed a contract for the pods with Saudi Arabia; the United States had first announced the possibility of the FMS in 2007 as part of a wider arms package for members of the Gulf Co-operation Council. The contract represents the first phase of a multi-year, USD100 million precision sensor modernisation programme to replace LANTIRN (Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting InfraRed for Night) targeting and navigation pods used aboard RSAF F-15S aircraft.
Zak Tomczak, Lockheed Martin's director of international Sniper business development, said the company is on track to deliver the pods within the two years it typically takes from FMS notification to hardware deliveries.