Northrop Grumman Laser Systems tests handheld precision targeting device
NewsOctober 02, 2014
APOPKA, Fla. Northrop Grumman has completed developmental testing of a new Hand Held Precision Targeting Device (HHPTD) that will enable soldiers to engage targets with precision munitions while providing digital connectivity to other military units.
The testing demonstrated the HHPTD’s effectiveness in various temperatures and terrain, and was conducted by the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force and the Army Program Executive Office's Project Manager Soldier Sensors and Lasers.
The HHPTD is designed to acquire, locate, designate, mark, and enable rapid target engagement with precision munitions. Digital connectivity enables the device to signal Joint Forces engaged in conflicts. The celestial navigation technology integrated in the system delivers improved robustness even in GPS-degraded or denied locations.
"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," explains Gordon Stewart, VP and GM of Northrop Grumman’s Laser Systems business unit. "We have been uniquely successful in producing precision targeting enhancements to our systems through the use of celestial navigation technology."
Northrop Grumman’s handheld targeting device includes an eye-safe laser rangefinder; a GPS receiver; an internal high definition color day and thermal night vision sensor; and internal magnetic and celestial navigation technologies. The HHPTD system weighs approximately five pounds. It 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, and also has a capability for a near infrared laser pointer.
Northrop Grumman Laser Systems, in collaboration with FLIR Systems, General Dynamics Global Imaging Technologies, and Wilcox Industries, has developed the HHPTD and a family of other handheld laser target location systems designed to meet mission requirements.
For more information, visit www.northropgrumman.com.
