Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System
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The Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) is a large and sophisticated camera pod carried by the F-14 Tomcat. It features multiple cameras which are pointed down at passing terrain. As the aircraft flies overhead, it takes photographs which it stores on large reels of film, and can also be transmitted in real time to allow immediate use of collected reconnaissance. The pod itself is 17 feet long, and weighs 1,850 lb. It serves to protect the three cameras inside from the forces that an aircraft capable of flying at Mach 2 can exert on its equipment. F-14 Alpha's and Bravo's were modified to carry TARPS but when F-14 Delta's were put into service all F-14's were TARPS capable
Each camera bay was designed for a specific task on reconnaissance missions. The forward bay held serial camera (KS-83) on a swivel mount which could direct the camera's view straight down or be moved to a 45 degree angle to give a forward looking or flight view on file. Typically, these camera held 2000 ft of film. If the later years of the TARPS program some TARPS pods were refitted with digital cameras which dumped images onto a PCMCIA Type II card. The second bay or middle bay or the TARPS pod held the KA-99 camera which produced imagery with a 160 degree view from below the pod. Typically, this camera was used for low level missions and held 2000 ft of film. Alternately, low level camera could be swapped out by maintenance staff for the KA-153 high altitude camera which help about 1200 ft of film. The third camera bay held an infrared camera the KS-90 for thermal imagery. All TARPS cameras were monitored by a device call a CIPDU in the tail cone section of the pod and were later upgraded to a unit called the PDU. An umbilical cord connected the pod the a control box which sat on the left side of the Radar Intercept Officer. A hose from the environmental control system from the F-14 cooled the internals of the pod in flight. Generally, within F-14 squadrons, the TARPS support staffs were crewed by Navy Photographers.
Since the early 1980s, TARPS have been successfully used in many engagements, including the Bosnian War and Operation Desert Storm. It was even used 1993 when areas of the Mississippi River flooded. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ordered TARPS flights be taken over the area to determine which locations were hardest hit, so they could send appropriate aid workers.
