The Thomson-CSF ATLIS II (Automatic Tracking and Laser Integration System) is a French

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

electro-optical Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the propaga ...

targeting pod for

fighter bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

and

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pre ...

. ATLIS was developed starting in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, entering service in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. It was developed for the French

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

, initially carried by

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. Originall ...

and

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''Arm ...

aircraft. ATLIS incorporates a

laser designator A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser-guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, AGM-114 Hellfire, or ...

boresighted with a television camera. The pilot or weapon systems officer uses the crosshairs to mark a target, which can then be attacked with

laser-guided bomb A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly p ...

s or other guided weapons from the designating aircraft or other, friendly forces. Because it is designed for use by single-seat aircraft, it has a novel automatic lock-on feature, which keeps the laser focused on the target without further operator intervention (using an

inertial guidance An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dire ...

system, it can generally keep the laser on target even if the beam is temporarily interrupted by clouds). ATLIS II is used by the

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would b ...

Mirage 2000N The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Dassault Mirage 2000, Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. It formed the core of the French air-based Strategic nuclear weapon, strategic nuclear Deterrence theory, deterrent. The Mirage 2000D ...

, and some Pakistani F-16s. It is compatible with various

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and French

s, with the French Aerospatiale

AS-30L The AS-30 was an air-to-ground missile built by Nord Aviation. It was a precision attack weapon designed to be used against high-value targets such as bridges and bunkers. The AS-30 was essentially a larger version of the earlier AS-20 design, an ...

missile, and even with some Russian bombs and guided weapons. In 1985, Pakistan Air Force selected ATLIS-II for its F-16 aircraft, making it the first non-European operator of this system. ATLIS-II pod is carried on the 5L intake station on the F-16. Over the years precision targeting using ATLIS has been a distinct phenomenon over-viewed regularly in PAF’ s operational exercises. In the recent PAF operations in Global War on Terrorism, ATLIS-II was extensively used for precision targeting. The pod is limited in being primarily a daylight/clear-weather system. It was briefly replaced by the more capable Thomson-CSF

PDLCT The PDLCT (for ''Pod de désignation laser caméra thermique'', "thermic camera-mounted laser designation pod") is a french targeting pod build for Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufactu ...

("Pod de Designation Laser a Camera Thermique" / Laser Designation Pod with Infrared Camera") and then the

Thales Damocles The Damocles is a 3rd generation targeting pod, modular, eye-safe laser, high performance pod selected by the French Air Force for its attack fighter aircraft fleet. It first entered service in 2009. Damocles is made by Thales Group produced ...

, which has a

FLIR Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlis Ii Targeting pods Military equipment introduced in the 1980s

See also

References