Lockheed Martin says it recently completed the second phase of work to integrate its Sniper targeting pod onto Air Force B-52H bombers. In the latest series of flight tests, Sniper demonstrated its ability to operate on the B-52, said the company in a release. “The Sniper pod demonstrated exceptional high-altitude performance,” said Maj. Chris Chandler, 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron operations flight commander. He added, “The picture quality was just unreal” and “the range from which I could identify targets was equally impressive.” The Sniper will give B-52 aircrews the ability to positively identify targets at long range and downlink video imagery to ground troops. In August, Lockheed said it received a contract for phase 3 work, which entails full integration of the Sniper on the B-52 with some pod improvements. B-52s have already flown missions with Northrop Grumman’s Litening pod.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…