Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first Sniper sensor pods ordered by the South Korean air force for its fleet of F-15K fighters. They arrived at Daegu Air Base, home to F-15Ks. The pods, which identify targets at long ranges and relay high-resolution streaming video to ground forces, will be “immediately deployed into full flight operations” with the F-15K fleet, according to a company release. “Sniper pods provide the [South Koreans] with updated targeting and non-traditional intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capabilities,” said Marc Nazon, Lockheed’s program manager for fixed wing fire control. “We look forward to continued support and training to ensure that [their] pilots and maintainers have a full command of the Sniper pod’s life capabilities.”
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
