Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System - Upgrades

Upgrades

Although TARPS was originally planned to be an interim solution, combat experience with VF-32 over Lebanon in 1983 resulted in upgrades to the TARPS camera suite and to the aircraft survivability. Since the KA-99 camera was designed for low-medium altitude missions, the Tomcats were forced to fly as low as 10,000 feet (3,000 m) over active AAA and SAM sites in the Bekaa Valley, again by VF-32, resulting in 6th Fleet requesting higher altitude cameras such as had been available in the dedicated RECCEE platforms such as the RA-5C, RF-8 and RF-4. As a result, the first set of four KA-93 36" focal length Long Range Optic (LOROP) cameras were shipped to NAS Oceana in the spring of 1984 for deployment with the next Tomcat TARPS squadron. VF-102 conducted an OPEVAL of the cameras en route to the MED in expectation of flying them over Lebanon, but the crisis had cooled down by then. The cameras then became forward deployed assets and cross-decked between TARPS squadrons. Later, KS-153 LOROP cameras were also procured and also used as forward deployed assets. The KS-87 camera bay was eventually upgraded with a digital sensor so that imagery could be captured onto a PCMCIA Type II card for debrief, but could also be transmitted as desired by the RIO.

The TARPS mission first exposed the Tomcat to the AAA and SAM threat on a routine basis and spurred upgrades not only to the cameras, but to the aircraft itself. The existing RHAW gear, the ALR-45/50 was vintage Vietnam era and could not keep up with the latest threats of the SA-5 and SA-6, both present in several threat countries in the Mediterranean. As such, TARPS Tomcats were provided with an Expanded Chaff Adapter (ECA) rail that provided 120 extra expendable rounds and another rail that mounted an ALQ-167 "Bullwinkle" jammer. Eventually, the F-14B arrived with the improved ALR-67 RHAW gear capable of keeping pace with the latest threats. Prior to that, some Tomcat squadrons used modified "Fuzz-buster" automotive police radar detectors mounted ad hoc on the pilot's glare shield to detect threats not handled by the ALR-45/50.