January 6, 2009: Turkey is buying several dozen LOROP (Long Range Oblique Photography) pods from Israeli manufacturer Elbit. LOROP is a high speed day/night digital camera mounted in a pod, along with a computer and commo gear that enables the aircraft (an F-16) to photograph up to 50,000 square kilometers an hour, and transmit it to a ground station, where commanders can immediately make use of the aerial photography.
Turkey sought to buy LOROP ten years ago, but wanted the data transmission capability added. Elbit said it would, but the task turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. This led to cancellation of the contract in 2006. But Elbit eventually for LOROP working, and the Israeli Air Force bought and used it. This reassured the Turks, who revived their order. The pods cost over a million dollars each.
