A brief history of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, including some rare and unseen upscaled footage.The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy’s Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project collapsed. The F-14 was the first American Teen Series fighter, designed to incorporate air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.The F-14 flew on December 21, 1970, and was first deployed in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform into the 2000s. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system was added in the 1990s, and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions.In the 1980s, F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War, where they saw combat against Iraqi warplanes. Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war (only 55 of these confirmed, according to historian Tom Cooper), while 16 Tomcats were lost, including seven losses to accidentsThe Tomcat was retired by the U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, having been supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Several retired F-14s have been put on display across the US. The F-14 remains in service with Iran’s air force, having been exported to Iran under the Pahlavi dynasty in 1976.Beginning in the late 1950s, the U.S. Navy sought a long-range, high-endurance interceptor to defend its carrier battle groups against long-range anti-ship missiles launched from the jet bombers and submarines of the Soviet Union. They proposed a Fleet Air Defense (FAD) aircraft with a more powerful radar and longer-range missiles than the F-4 Phantom II to intercept enemy bombers and missiles at very long range. Studies into this concept led to the Douglas F6D Missileer project of 1959. Still, this large subsonic aircraft appeared unable to defend itself once it fired its missiles, and the project was canceled in December 1961.General characteristicsCrew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer)Length: 62 ft 9 in (19.13 m)Wingspan: 64 ft 1.5 in (19.545 m)Swept wingspan: 38 ft 2.5 in (11.646 m) sweptHeight: 16 ft (4.9 m)Wing area: 565 sq ft (52.5 m2) wings only1,008 sq ft (94 m2) effective area including fuselageAirfoil:Grumman (1.74)(35)(9.6)-(1.1)(30)(1.1) rootGrumman (1.27)(30)(9.0)-(1.1)(40)(1.1) tipEmpty weight: 43,735 lb (19,838 kg)Gross weight: 61,000 lb (27,669 kg)Max takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,725 kg)Fuel capacity: 16,200 lb (7,348 kg) internal fuel; 2 × optional 267 US gal (222 imp gal; 1,010 l) / 1,756 lb (797 kg) external tanksPowerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans, 16,610 lbf (73.9 kN) thrust each dry, 28,200 lbf (125 kN) with afterburnerPerformanceMaximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at altitudeRange: 1,600 nmi (1,800 mi, 3,000 km)Combat range: 500 nmi (580 mi, 930 km)Service ceiling: 53,000 ft (16,000 m) plusg limits: +7.5Rate of climb: 45,000 ft/min (230 m/s) plusWing loading: 96 lb/sq ft (470 kg/m2) 48 lb/sq ft (230 kg/m2) effectiveThrust/weight: 0.92 at gross weight (1.07 with loaded weight & 50% internal fuel)ArmamentGuns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled rotary cannon, with 675 roundsHardpoints: 10 total: 6× under-fuselage, 2× under nacelles, and 2× on wing gloves with a capacity of 14,500 lb (6,600 kg) of ordnance and fuel tanks, with provisions to carry combinations of:Rockets: 7x LAU-10 rocket pods (for a total of 28 rockets)Missiles: AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles:Bombs:JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)Paveway series of laser-guided bombsMk 80 series of unguided iron bombsMk 20 Rockeye II cluster munitionOther:Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS)LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS) pod (AN/AAQ-14)2× 267 US gal (1,010 l; 222 imp gal) drop tanks for extended range/loitering timeAvionicsHughes AN/APG-71 radarAN/ALR-67 radar warning receiverAN/AAS-42 infrared search and track, AAX-1 TCSAN/ASN-130 Inertial navigation systemRemotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) upgrade
