IAI/Elta has unveiled the TASCAN Electro-Optical targeting pod for fighter aircraft, thereby complementing its EL/M-20600 Radar Targeting Pod (RTP) which uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for that purpose. Sofar Elta’s RTP has been offered along with the Litening EO targeting pod produced by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. IAI’s pursuit of an independent program could mark a departure from this cooperation. The TASCAN is slightly longer, compared to the Litening, comprising the new EO outfit provided by IAI/Tamam. According to IAI sources, the new targeting pod employs the latest in EO/IR technology, and uses a gimbaled platform carrying the EO sensors. The TASCAN sibling, RTP comprises SAR/MTI radar design, relying on a radar transceiver operating in the Ku Band. Inter-pod cooperation is possible, in which for wide area search, the RTP is employed in either SAR or Moving Target Indicator (MTI) mode, and as potential targets are spotted, the RTP queues the EO pod for investigation and target acquisition. The SAR can also provide targeting data under no-visibility conditions.
