Israeli defense electronics company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced today that it is selling 90 Litening 5 targeting pods to the German Air Force. The deal, which is worth about €358 million was approved by the budget committee of the German parliament in June, according to reports in the German media. The components will be used by the German Air Force in its Typhoon aircraft. The company said it is a fifth-generation system for air-to-ground surveillance and guidance of weapons. According to Rafael, it is currently in operational service with 28 air forces around the world and more than 2,000 units have been sold so far.
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The German Air Force is conducting extensive cooperation with the Israeli defense sector, which includes leasing drones in a deal worth €1 billion with Israel Aerospace Industries and Israel’s Ministry of Defense, as well as the rapid deployment of the Arrow 3 system.
Rafael said in a press release, “The decision by the German government, following the Litening 3 procurement, to pprocure the advanced Litening 5 model, reflects satisfaction with an operationally proven system, with an emphasis on accuracy, sustainability and future feasibility. This is part of a recent European trend that prioritizes sensor upgrades over the procurement of new platforms.” These pods are also installed on Israeli Air Force aircraft, it was reported.
In Germany, it was reported that the reasons for approving the system’s procurement in both the defense committee and budget committee were the system’s capabilities, which include locking on to a target even in cases where the flight altitude changes sharply, and also in cases where the target moves. Thermal sensors allow targets to be identified even in poor visibility conditions, it was reported. The need for procuring the new system also stated that it contains more sensitive sensors with greater power and range, so that it “significantly improves the aircraft’s combat capabilities.” According to the report, the system enables attacking targets up to a range of more than 100 kilometers from the aircraft’s location.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 26, 2025.
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