Turkey’s defence ministry is threatening to terminate a $35 million contract with Israeli supplier Elop over the delayed availability of its long-range oblique photography (LOROP) system. Selected in 2000, the system had been intended to equip the Turkish air force’s McDonnell Douglas RF-4E reconnaissance aircraft and some of its Lockheed Martin F-16s, but has been the subject of delay caused by unspecified technical problems.
Elbit Systems subsidiary Elop says the delay stems partly from the “new operational requirements” of the Turkish air force and is also the result of difficulties experienced by subsuppliers during the development of system components such as the LOROP payload’s datalink. The company is continuing its efforts to resolve the current problems and still hopes to complete the stalled deal with Ankara, it says.
Contained inside a modified 1,140 litre (300USgal) external fuel tank, the electro-optical/infrared LOROP system is capable of providing high-resolution imagery from altitudes up to 65,000ft (19,800m), says Elop.
ARIE EGOZI/TEL AVIV
Source: Flight International
