The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a
supersonic, twin-engine,
two-seat, variable geometry
wing aircraft. The F-14 was
the United States Navy's
primary maritime air
superiority fighter, fleet
defense interceptor and
tactical reconnaissance
platform from 1972 to 2006. It
later performed precision
strike missions once it was
integrat
more

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a
supersonic, twin-engine,
two-seat, variable geometry
wing aircraft. The F-14 was
the United States Navy's
primary maritime air
superiority fighter, fleet
defense interceptor and
tactical reconnaissance
platform from 1972 to 2006. It
later performed precision
strike missions once it was
integrated with LANTIRN. It
was developed after the
collapse of the F-111B
project, and was the first of
the American teen-series
fighters which were designed
incorporating the experience
of air combat in Vietnam
against MiGs.It entered
service in 1972 with the U.S.
Navy, replacing the F-4
Phantom II. It was later
exported to the Imperial
Iranian Air Force in 1976. It
was retired from the U.S. Navy
fleet on 22 September 2006,
having been replaced by the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. As of
2007, it remains in service
only with the Islamic Republic
of Iran Air Force.The F-14
Tomcat program was initiated
when it became obvious that
the issues with the F-111B,
the Navy variant of the
Tactical Fighter Experimental
(TFX), primarily over weight
and maneuverability would not
be resolved to the Navy's
satisfaction. The Navy
requirement was for a fleet
air defense fighter (FADF)
with the primary role of
intercepting Soviet bombers
before they could launch
missiles against the carrier
group, but the navy also
wanted the aircraft to possess
inherent air superioriy
characteristics. The Navy
strenuously opposed the TFX,
which incorporated the Air
Force's requirements for a
low-level attack aircraft,
fearing the compromises would
cripple the aircraft, but were
forced to participate in the
program at direction of then
Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara who wanted 'joint'
solutions to the service
aircraft needs to reduce
developmental costs. The prior
example of the F-4 Phantom
which was a Navy program later
adopted by the USAF (under
similar direction) was the
order of the day. Vice Admiral
Connolly, DCNO for Air Warfare
took the developmental F-111A
for a flight and discovered it
was unable to go supersonic
and had poor landing
characteristics. He later
testified to Congress about
his concerns against the
official Department of the
Navy position and in May 1968,
Congress killed funding for
the F-111B allowing the Navy
to pursue an answer tailored
to their requirements. NAVAIR
shortly issued an RFP for the
Naval Fighter Experimental
(VFX), a tandem two-seat
fighter with maximum speed of
Mach 2.2 and a secondary close
air support role. Of the five
companies that submitted bids
(four of which incorporated
variable-geometry wings as on
the F-111), McDonnell Douglas
and Grumman were selected as
finalists in December 1968,
and Grumman won the contract
in January 1969. Grumman had
been a partner on the F-111B,
and had started work on an
alternative when they saw the
project heading south, and so
had an edge on its
competitors. Their early
design mockups and cost
projections were floated among
Navy brass as an alternative
to the F-111B.The winning
Grumman design reused the TF30
engines from the F-111B,
though the Navy planned on
replacing them with the F401
engines then under development
for the USAF by Pratt and
Whitney. Though lighter than
the F-111B, it was still the
largest and heaviest U.S.
fighter to ever fly from an
aircraft carrier, its size a
consequence of the requirement
to carry the large AWG-9 radar
and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles,
also from the F-111B and an
internal fuel load of 16,000
lbs. The F-14 would also share
the landing gear, air ducts,
and wing of the Grumman A-6
Intruder.[citation needed]Upon
being granted the contract for
the F-14, Grumman greatly
expanded its Calverton, Long
Island, New York facility to
test and evaluate the new
swing-wing interceptor. Much
of the testing was in the air
of the Long Island Sound as
well as the first few
in-flight mishaps, including
the first of many compressor
stalls and ejections. In order
to save time and forestall
interference from Secretary
McNamara, the Navy skipped the
prototype phase and jumped
directly to full-scale
development; the Air Force
took a similar approach with
its F-15.The F-14 first flew
on December 21, 1970, just 22
months after Grumman was
awarded the contract, and
reached Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) in 1973.
While the Marine Corps was
interested in the F-14 and
went so far as to send pilots
to VF-124 to train as
instructors, they were never
fully sold on the aircraft and
pulled out when the stores
management system for ground
attack munitions was left
undeveloped, leaving the
aircraft incapable of dropping
air-to-ground munitions (these
were later developed in the
1990s).

Category Autos & Vehicles

Tags F-14, Tomcat, Flyby, Breaks, Sound, Barrier, Drops, Flares, Navy, Marines, Fighter, Jet, Aircraft, United, States, US