the BUFF was overbuilt the F14A only had a 6,000 to 8,000 flight hour lifespan these bastards have at least 60,000 hours on them some i've heard have 70,000 hours!!!
Years ago, one of my coworkers was an Iranian Air Force pilot who fled Iran when the Ayatollah took over. Said he flew F-4 Phantoms. This is such an awesome channel.
Age comes last in consideration. What matters is low mileage, spares availability, modification capacity, maintenance level, professionalism of maintenance crew, serviceability, pilot training and experience.
I was in 4th grade in 1974 when I scored an impressive 99/100 in a Math exam. My Dad was so shell shocked that he bought me a Japanese battery operated Tomcat toy. I've been in love with the F-14 since then. Yes, I still have the toy and it works perfectly!😊
They also still fly those old Northrop F-5 light fighters. An indigenous Iranian fighter jet is actually an upgraded F-5 with some redesign of the airframe.
Regardless of how you feel about the Westminster regime, the fact that ultra modern and British tax payer funded nuclear trident missile tests utterly failed is also "impressive".. you must admit
@@clavichordEvery nation has military failures. Russias recent Satan II ICBM failure for one. It’s how you put these things right and learn from them that counts.
War is an ultimate testament to humanity. Unfortunately it seems the conflict is natural and secondary to our fundamental circumstances. I have heard this : Your life is only made good through difficulty.
When I was in U.S. Navy boot camp there was a whole separate company of Iranians. Later, at "A" school (Naval Station Great Lakes) there were Iranians there as well.
Was at Great Lakes for Engineman A school back in 1978 and remember the Iranian students then. They occupied the 3rd level of the berthing building and kept to themselves, would get hostile if you approached them.
I saw the Iranians at NTTC Meridian, MS. I believe they were trained as Aviation Storekeepers (AK) for said F-14s. They kept to themselves. Respectful but not social.
Greetings from Iran. I'm an Iranian Pilot (commercial) and enjoy seeing these beautiful marvels of engineering take off and land from time to time. The Aircraft has an special place in heart of Iranian public because of 3 main reasons: 1- It's regarded as a souvenir from the late Shah under whom the country enjoyed peace and prosperity. 2- Iranian public love anything American (Cars, Aircraft, Movies, TV shows, you name it) and have tremendous respect and admirations for American engineering and expertise. 3- The type is credited for saving numerous Iranians from being bombed during Iran-Iraq war. AFAIK there was never any F-14 delivered to Russia (I've heard about it but I believe it's not true) but the Islamist government occupying Iran is stupid enough to do that so there's a possibility. When Iran finally gets liberated from the Islamist regime you guys can travel to Iran and enjoy watching the Tomcats at airshows! ☺
I was in USN avionics school in 75. We had lots of Iranians in the various aviation schools then. My friends and I spent many hours watching Tomcats doing touch-and-goes. They were truly beauty in motion. I pray you and yours will see your country free and prosperous one day soon
I had an uncle that worked in Iran for the Bell Helicopter company in technical assistance. He was on one of the last planes out of Iran before the Iranians started taking hostages.
When I was in US Air Force, I was attending Telephone Maint school from 72-73 and we had 2 Iranians Students, in my Class. We also had Iranians Pilots training at Sheppard.
I met a guy in Beverly Hills at a local hangout here and met one of these former pilots. Really nice dude, we bump into each other around town a lot. French/Iranian.
My Dad and 2 uncles worked at Grumman back then. When the F-14s were sent to Iran, Grumman shipped my uncle and his entire family over there to do maintenance training for the planes. He had plenty of "interesting" stories when they came home.
In the late 1970s, I was in Iran. When I took the train from the west into Tehran, there were many F14s in mile after mile in bases on the rail line. Beautiful planes.
Yes, I agree that Dr Felton has created an awesome channel that cares little for politics but cares a great deal for facts and for events that are seldom covered by other media outlets. And by the way, greetings North Carolina to the fine people of Iran. 🇺🇸🤝🇮🇷
I already knew the history of the Iranian f14’s and didnt really learn anything new, and still i watched the entire video to hear you talk about it Mr Felton.
As an Iranian, thank you very much for making another informative video about my country. Although they are old, it still makes you feel proud to see them flying because they are the heroes of a long and bloody war. Thank you very much.❤
About 20 years ago, when l was a docent at an air museum in Southern California (one of whose a/c was recently spotligthed on this channel) we acquired an F-14 in a trade with another museum. The Tomcat hadn't been with us long when an NIS agent arrived and asked to talk to the boss. The F-14 vanished soon after. We didn't find out until later that the navy was doing its best to keep spare parts out of Iranian hands.
Fascinating stuff! Thanks Mark! One of my bosses back in the day was US Marine aviator on exchange. He loved the Tomcat. Just a durable and reliable beast in his opinion. Spent many hours in horrendous conditions in the Western Pacific. Cool Stuff.
I remember the F-14 well. I was part of a review team when it was still being tested. I remember watching it "compete" with a F4 Phantom during one test. We were awe struck at its maneuverability.
It's worth noting that Iranian Tomcat pilots also have records for the longest single flight in a Tomcat and being the first to perform a night air to aid refuelling operation.
The F-14 Tomcat had the first microprocessor in it. That was classified, so people thought the first microprocessor was the Intel 4004 for a long time. Nope, the US government was a few years early!
Almost every single bit of 'new technology" we get in the civilian world has been invented, tested, perfected, or at least used by the military for years before we get or hear about it.
Technically it was not a microprocessor since CADC's MP944 chip set required six major MOS chips (not including I/O chips). None the less the 20 bit MP944 was an impressive achievement at that time, I still wonder what could have been if Garrett could have commercialized the small microcomputer.
@@katout75 The term "microprocessor" didn't exist yet and we retroactively made it up and applied it to things. Yes, the first microprocessor didn't fit today's definition of the integrated circuit being on one chip. The CADC chips were 6 parts of a whole, but they can still be considered a microprocessor because words are flexible and there are exceptions. They were integrated circuits on tiny chips way smaller than any of the non-integrated circuits that came before. It was a the first processor on a MICRO scale.
@@abigaillilac1370 Then the IBM System/4 Pi would take the title then since it was available in 1967 then since it was micro and used on the Apollo missions. The Intel 4004 still holds the 1st microprocessor since it was monolithic semiconductor to contain the ALU/CPU/Control/Registers. Monolithic is the key word for a microprocessor being singe chip for the key components. Again the MP944 is very novel just not the first microprocessor. It's subjective no doubt.
I told Mark I loved him before early on and he answered back. I hold that dearly to my heart forever. Lol your the man mark. The channel I've searched high and low for
My brother was a Navy trained aircraft electrician. After he came home he worked at Grumman and helped to install the wiring harnesses into the prototype F-14.
Thanks for the episode, Dr. Felton - my father's team developed the attack computer program at the Bethpage Plant, and to this day he detests the "I've got tone!" line uttered by Tom Cruise. He went on to help develop the analog computer used in the Lunar LEM, and was key in helping Apollo 13 get back home...his saying, "Never underestimate a slide rule". I agree. USAF Security Police, Retired.
@@Blackadder75 Yeaaahhhhh, buuuutttt.....the Tomcat ist a Fighter so it faces much Higher G-loads, which Stresses the airframe more, which leads much more Fatigue Cracks. The B-52's flight regime ist much gentler in the airframe. And all B-52 Currently in Service are B-52Hs build from 1961 to 1962. So barely 14-16 years older than the Iranian F-14 and with OEM Support. If you Take the much more punishing flight Regime, the Lack of OEM Support, Lack of spätes, daily Combat Missions for 8 years, that makes the Iranian Tomcat's longevity much more impressive. Exit: typos.
Every aircraft requires constant maintenance to get that longevity in its record. Even a little Cessna 152 requires (mandatory) inspections and maintenance.
Be aware that an F-14 will only be able to reach max speed in a clean condition. In a useful combat configuration with missiles and fuel tanks, it'll be no faster and indeed probably slower than an F-35, which can carry a stealth optimised weapon load internally.
Good point! It's prudent to recall that F-35's aren't meant to dogfight. They are snipers who can reach out and touch the bad guys long before the bad guys know the Penguins are there. Yes, that is the F-35's nickname. There's another one that's even less complimentary...
@@gordonbergslien30 The USAF calls them Fat Amy. I see them alongside F-16s around Luke AFB a lot and when you see an F-35A next to a F16, the nickname makes sense.
@@tolson57 When you see one? The name makes sense when you hear one let alone see it! Was up at Katherine, and you could hear the Fat Amys from RAAF base Tindall through their entire flight route from take off till landing, they make heaps of noise pushing their fat asses through the air. They'd do the same flights in Super Hornets and you'd only hear them when they were nearby. Apparently F35s are like driving a ton of bricks. No fun at all once you've flown a Super Hornet.
The F35 can only reach maximum speed in short bursts. So if a F14 is slowed to mach 1.5 by wing mounted weapons, it is still faster as it can maintain that speed without and I quote Lockheed Martin here 'Risk of serious and irrepairable damage to the airframe.' The F35 also needs to concede internal space for fuel, as it's range is shockingly short. The most likely clash between an F14 and F35 would be an Iserali raid. So it needs to fit air to air missiles, a few decent sized bombs and sufficient fuel to get to it's target(which, given we are talking F14s would be in Iranian airspace, or MAYBE Eastern Iraq or Syria). All of this to say, the moment Iseralis detect a bird coming towards their F35 they are high tail 'supersonic bursting' it back home, because they are probably not carrying air to air missiles(assuming they want to carry bombs that can actually do something). Also, stealth can be worked around. Does everyone keep forgetting about how the Serbians shot down a B2 in Kosovo!?
The F-14 was introduced around the same time as the F-15 and F-16, which are still relevant in modern war. F-14 are still a capable aircraft, the US Navy dropped them because they were very high maintenance aircraft and had limited air to surface capabilities, it was designed for fleet protection not ground attack. The F/A 18 is much more versatile and could do both missions at lower cost. Also, in the hands of Tom Cruise, F-14s are still very deadly.
@@wicky383 Yes, a 90s modification of the F14 for ground attack. An after production modification. The F14 was not originally designed for such a role. F/A 18 was.
Around the same time but maybe just a bit too early to keep up with the other two. There is a Curious Droid video on the F-14 which calls it the last analogue fighter.
@@michaelporzio7384 Apparently that's not true. The F-14 was designed with an air-ground capability from the outset but, in the 1970s, the political preference was for specialised aircraft so the decision was made to focus entirely on the counter-air roles. In the 1990s they just had to dust off the existing AWG-15 fire control system and teach the RIO's to use it. The difficult bit was integrating the LANTIRN laser targeting pod.
I remember seeing Top Gun when I was 5, and I became absolutely obssessed with the F-14. Had my parents buy me books, technical manuals, as many toys as as were available. I always tell people who were big Star Wars fans growing up that Top Gun was MY Star Wars, and its because of that jet. Looking at the diecast F-14B with the VF-103 'Jolly Rogers' livery on my desk as I type this, so the obsession is still alive and well nearly 40 years on.
Great topic! These F-14A's are from the late 1970's I can only imagine they are installing Russian or Chinese radar systems in their fleet. Many thanks for posting Dr. Mark!
Grumman was headquartered in my home town of Bethpage, NY (though the F-14s were built further east on Long Island). My dad ran a warehouse that was next door to a Grumman building where some of the Iranian pilots would train. The Iranian pilots would sometimes come over to buy items in the warehouse showroom.
The spare parts problem was pretty much solved in the 1990's. The advent of open market CNC machines, and esp the past decade, metal aerospace grade 3D printers probably means the F-14 and F-4 programs have a secure set of spares. Iran builds F-5 frames from scratch.
F-5s from scratch? No they aren't. They are recycling/modifying old F-5 airframes, mainly for propaganda purposes. A while back they had a dog and pony show where they showed off a new aircraft, which close-up photography revealed to be a plywood mock-up. They can't even make civil aircraft, 100% of Iran Air's fleet consisting of Airbus or Boeing products. It's a lot simpler to make a civil airliner than a warplane.
Iranian here. It still amazes me how some Americans, even in this day and age, can believe in propaganda and wholeheartedly accept the stereotype of Iranians as literally jihadist Tusekn Raiders bent on destroying the Western world. Human psychology truly is fascinating.
For a second there I thought there was a mistake that the F-14 was replaced by the Super Hornet, not just the Hornet. But, I looked into it, and even though the F-18 Hornet existed prior, it was the Super Hornet that filled the role of the F-14. Good attention to detail Mark.
Think about what you just said. If the plane is different then all things aren't equal. Your sentence is logically inconsistent and will lead to the implosion of the universe in 3...2...1 Muppet
@@darkjudge8786 they are going to be times when the pilot is key . For exsample ground attack aircraft the warthogs they take a high degree of skill to fly and use in close surpport of troops on the ground .
The Russians still sport the MiG-31 which flies just as high if not higher and just as fast if not faster than the Tomcat. It also boast a super powerful long range radar on par with the Tomcat's. It's achieved the highest A2A kill ratio in Ewekraine. Dogfighting capability aside it easily equals or surpasses the F-14's success for use in recon and early warning long range detection.
Not many flight hours going on them. They might have a couple dozen of them still "serviceable" meaning that they can get off the ground and fly, but combat capable probably fewer than 10 at best. Most are probably torn apart for inspections and parts fabrication more often than not. I assume that all remaining aircraft are cobbled together chunks of other aircraft, jury rigged systems and pieces and parts of non-F14 aircraft adapted and bolted on to keep them semi-functional.
It's not just speed that makes it dangerous, it's the powerful long range radar and fire control systems, which can track and engage up to 6 targets simultaneously. The Phoenix missile was built for this system and has a range of something like 80 nm, but who knows if the Iranian home-built replacement missile is as capable. They made it look like a Phoenix anyway.
It is important to note, the F-15, F-16, and even the Mig-29, all still frontline fighters in major nations to this day (and still being produced), are of the same or similar age. The design of the F-14 is capable enough to equip nations still, IF and only IF it continues to receive updated weapons and avionic packages like the US inventory of F-15 and F-16s. While Iran is capable of doing that itself, it cannot build entirely new airframes, thus, age and attrition is taking over. The US has F-15s and F-16s in service, but not the same original airframes built in the 70's and 80's, those airframes did not have necessary updates, and over the years the airframes themselves fatigue. No matter how diligent the maintenance and updates made for the F-14's, they will continue to become more and more unreliable, until they are no longer cost effective to operate.
The claim at 4:38 that Iraq was close to the US in 1980 is incorrect. Iraq was aligned with the USSR and the vast majority of its military hardware came from the Soviet Union. For the US, the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 was a war between 2 states both hostile to the US. This is why Henry Kissinger once quipped about the war that "It's a shame they can't both lose."
@@1962brennan I was also alive in those days and while Iraq was never officially a US ally. It was seen as the lesser of two evils.Hence Donald Rumsfleld meeting Saddam and Iraqi officers receiving military training in the United States.Saddam may have officially been a Soviet ally. But Saddam was hedging his bets by trying to be as friendly to America as circumstances would permit. Remember that other Soviet aligned Arab states such as Egypt and Syria would become allies with the United States against Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War. Iran had captured our embassy and taken American hostages. Later,Iran would support terrorist groups that kidnapped Americans and hijacked planes with American passengers. Iran also supported the terrorist group that blew up the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. Iraq had attacked Iran and was killing tens of thousands of Iranian child soldiers doing "meat wave" attacks. In 1987,when an Iraqi jet hit the USS Stark with an exorcet missile.The US swept that under the rug. But would launch a one day naval war with Iran in 1988 over Iranian actions against the US Navy.
The Iranian purchase of 80 F-14s was key to the US Navy's being able to afford the fighter jet. Development costs led to a per-airplane price that the Navy could not afford on its own. The Shah purchase not only got him the world's first "superfighter," it subsidized the US Navy's purchase.
@@Pvt_Wade 150 F-16s with an option for 150 more. Also another huge allotment of Phoenix missiles, but they never got delivered. Iran didnt even get all of its original Tomcats, just 79 delivered.
My book, One Of A Kind, The Grumman Story, has an X29 on the cover, goes into detail on this sale to Iran. My brother and father were lifers at Grumman. My brother said after we stopped helping them that the radar assembly was stolen from grounded F14s. The needed matinance need for them makes them very expensive to maintain. I can't belive they are still flying.
Keeping the Tomcats operational is a massive flex on the USA. CAD and 3D printing have probably helped restore more aircraft to service. They probably get help from China. There’s a term in the aircraft industry called “Chinese blueprint” which means to manufacture something from a sample. China is, of course, very good at reverse engineering. They have also redesigned systems locally. One thing they were very proud of was their braking systems and how they were superior to OEM. The Tomcat was designed to operate from aircraft carriers and use tail hooks instead of brakes. So they left some room for improvement perhaps. Now how they keep the TF-30s going is beyond me.
When those fighters were sold to Iran, during the time of the Shah, one of my uncles worked for the contractor that supplied the fighter jet radar. They needed one person to move to Iran to train the forces there. It was between him and a coworker. The coworker went. When the Shah fell everyone had to get out quickly. His coworker was there and had to get out leaving everything he owned behind.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Old airframes cannot be upgraded and maintained forever . . .
B52: Hold my beer.
the BUFF was overbuilt the F14A only had a 6,000 to 8,000 flight hour lifespan these bastards have at least 60,000 hours on them some i've heard have 70,000 hours!!!
SR-71: mine too🍺.
100% not compareable :D
Correct
C-130
Years ago, one of my coworkers was an Iranian Air Force pilot who fled Iran when the Ayatollah took over. Said he flew F-4 Phantoms.
This is such an awesome channel.
Age a problem?? Tell it to the US Air Force still flying B-52s!!
@@guyfawkesuThe1 Damned things will be 100 years soon! 😮
Don't build them like they used to
@@richardschafer7858 Well, at least Boeing doesn't.
Age comes last in consideration. What matters is low mileage, spares availability, modification capacity, maintenance level, professionalism of maintenance crew, serviceability, pilot training and experience.
Mark, has The Soviets ever taken the F-14 from the Iranians to dissect and reverse engineer it's parts???
I was in 4th grade in 1974 when I scored an impressive 99/100 in a Math exam. My Dad was so shell shocked that he bought me a Japanese battery operated Tomcat toy.
I've been in love with the F-14 since then.
Yes, I still have the toy and it works perfectly!😊
Watch out for Iranian spies trying to nick it.
I thought you were gonna say my dad took me to see the tomcat....I've been a pilot ever since story....but okok
Where did you get spare parts? From Iran? 😂
One of them Tomcats got stolen not long ago by some US Navy cpt called Pete Mitchell .
I would like to hear the back story on that.
🤣😂😅
He traded in for a P-51.
They should make a movie about the event. I would watch it.
Reminds of a similar story when a couple of Royal Navy pilots stole a Sea Vixen in the 80's and took on some MiG-23's!
Regardless of how you feel about Iran or their government, the fact they've managed to keep these in the air for this long is impressive.
There are skilled people throughout the world, population statistics prove this out.
They also still fly those old Northrop F-5 light fighters. An indigenous Iranian fighter jet is actually an upgraded F-5 with some redesign of the airframe.
Regardless of how you feel about the Westminster regime, the fact that ultra modern and British tax payer funded nuclear trident missile tests utterly failed is also "impressive".. you must admit
@@clavichordEvery nation has military failures. Russias recent Satan II ICBM failure for one.
It’s how you put these things right and learn from them that counts.
War is an ultimate testament to humanity. Unfortunately it seems the conflict is natural and secondary to our fundamental circumstances.
I have heard this : Your life is only made good through difficulty.
When I was in U.S. Navy boot camp there was a whole separate company of Iranians.
Later, at "A" school (Naval Station Great Lakes) there were Iranians there as well.
Was at Great Lakes for Engineman A school back in 1978 and remember the Iranian students then. They occupied the 3rd level of the berthing building and kept to themselves, would get hostile if you approached them.
@@ndogg20 ; I remember them as being squared away, but keeping to themselves, and why wouldn't they?
I saw the Iranians at NTTC Meridian, MS. I believe they were trained as Aviation Storekeepers (AK) for said F-14s. They kept to themselves. Respectful but not social.
@@ndogg20 when was the last time you were in North Chicago?
@@gandydancer823 Last time in N. Chicago was 1978.
Greetings from Iran. I'm an Iranian Pilot (commercial) and enjoy seeing these beautiful marvels of engineering take off and land from time to time. The Aircraft has an special place in heart of Iranian public because of 3 main reasons: 1- It's regarded as a souvenir from the late Shah under whom the country enjoyed peace and prosperity. 2- Iranian public love anything American (Cars, Aircraft, Movies, TV shows, you name it) and have tremendous respect and admirations for American engineering and expertise. 3- The type is credited for saving numerous Iranians from being bombed during Iran-Iraq war.
AFAIK there was never any F-14 delivered to Russia (I've heard about it but I believe it's not true) but the Islamist government occupying Iran is stupid enough to do that so there's a possibility.
When Iran finally gets liberated from the Islamist regime you guys can travel to Iran and enjoy watching the Tomcats at airshows! ☺
Looking forward to Iran joining the league of free nations.
Love everything American?
They have a funny way of showing it. 🤷🏼♂️
I was in USN avionics school in 75. We had lots of Iranians in the various aviation schools then. My friends and I spent many hours watching Tomcats doing touch-and-goes. They were truly beauty in motion. I pray you and yours will see your country free and prosperous one day soon
Why not turn to Zoroaster ?
@@TesterAnimal1the people NOT their government. Read between the lines my man.
I had an uncle that worked in Iran for the Bell Helicopter company in technical assistance. He was on one of the last planes out of Iran before the Iranians started taking hostages.
When I was in US Air Force, I was attending Telephone Maint school from 72-73 and we had 2 Iranians Students, in my Class. We also had Iranians Pilots training at Sheppard.
Age a problem?? Tell it to the US Air Force still flying B-52s!!
Stil a beauty the Tomcat, thank you for yet another great episode Mark!
I met a guy in Beverly Hills at a local hangout here and met one of these former pilots. Really nice dude, we bump into each other around town a lot. French/Iranian.
Beverly Hills has a high concentration of Iranians including the former Mayor.
My Dad and 2 uncles worked at Grumman back then. When the F-14s were sent to Iran, Grumman shipped my uncle and his entire family over there to do maintenance training for the planes. He had plenty of "interesting" stories when they came home.
Like.
Let's hear one.
In the late 1970s, I was in Iran. When I took the train from the west into Tehran, there were many F14s in mile after mile in bases on the rail line. Beautiful planes.
Never in a million years did I'd think I'd hear my favorite historian talk about my favorite aircraft. Absolutely made my day
Such a beautiful jet
It’s also my favorite Jet.
Same here! The Tomcat is bad ass!
Now Mark lets not forget the 1980 movie The Final Countdown which also featured the legendary F-14 Tomcat 😁
Yeah that is what got me actually
Yeah the footage is fantastic, plus they actually use the correct sound of the M61.
Who doesn't love the Jolly Rogers livery on a Tomcat
Yes but is an F14 really a match for a Zero? There were parts of that movie that were just hard to believe.
@@PxThucydides it's a time travel movie, it's not meant to be believable lol.
Big fan of your unbiased channel for years.❤ from iran.
@@h.y1855 really it is not unbiased channel sadly. Buy info is mostly correct
Yes, I agree that Dr Felton has created an awesome channel that cares little for politics but cares a great deal for facts and for events that are seldom covered by other media outlets.
And by the way, greetings North Carolina to the fine people of Iran.
🇺🇸🤝🇮🇷
Check out his banner he's not unbiased 😉
I already knew the history of the Iranian f14’s and didnt really learn anything new, and still i watched the entire video to hear you talk about it Mr Felton.
Yes I served in the 🇮🇷 Iranian Air Force as a Pilot before the 1979 Revolution ✈️
Oh do tell.
The West is evil
Too bad your a traitor
@@Castragroup *you're
@@geopomoco lmao muh grammar
As an Iranian, thank you very much for making another informative video about my country.
Although they are old, it still makes you feel proud to see them flying because they are the heroes of a long and bloody war.
Thank you very much.❤
🇺🇸 Made in America 🇺🇸
@@j.robertsergertson4513 And they created a masterpiece
Get out of town😂@@j.robertsergertson4513
About 20 years ago, when l was a docent at an air museum in Southern California (one of whose a/c was recently spotligthed on this channel) we acquired an F-14 in a trade with another museum. The Tomcat hadn't been with us long when an NIS agent arrived and asked to talk to the boss. The F-14 vanished soon after. We didn't find out until later that the navy was doing its best to keep spare parts out of Iranian hands.
Fascinating stuff! Thanks Mark! One of my bosses back in the day was US Marine aviator on exchange. He loved the Tomcat. Just a durable and reliable beast in his opinion. Spent many hours in horrendous conditions in the Western Pacific. Cool Stuff.
"Ba man sahbat kon ghaz" That's "Talk to me Goose" in Persian. Love the variety and knowledge Dr. Felton
Daram sohbat mikonam bahat
دارم صحبت میکنم
"Quack Quack" came the reply😄
I remember the F-14 well. I was part of a review team when it was still being tested. I remember watching it "compete" with a F4 Phantom during one test. We were awe struck at its maneuverability.
It's worth noting that Iranian Tomcat pilots also have records for the longest single flight in a Tomcat and being the first to perform a night air to aid refuelling operation.
The F-14 Tomcat had the first microprocessor in it. That was classified, so people thought the first microprocessor was the Intel 4004 for a long time. Nope, the US government was a few years early!
Almost every single bit of 'new technology" we get in the civilian world has been invented, tested, perfected, or at least used by the military for years before we get or hear about it.
And Alexander the OK has an impressive video covering about the F-14's microprocessor!
Technically it was not a microprocessor since CADC's MP944 chip set required six major MOS chips (not including I/O chips). None the less the 20 bit MP944 was an impressive achievement at that time, I still wonder what could have been if Garrett could have commercialized the small microcomputer.
@@katout75 The term "microprocessor" didn't exist yet and we retroactively made it up and applied it to things. Yes, the first microprocessor didn't fit today's definition of the integrated circuit being on one chip. The CADC chips were 6 parts of a whole, but they can still be considered a microprocessor because words are flexible and there are exceptions. They were integrated circuits on tiny chips way smaller than any of the non-integrated circuits that came before. It was a the first processor on a MICRO scale.
@@abigaillilac1370 Then the IBM System/4 Pi would take the title then since it was available in 1967 then since it was micro and used on the Apollo missions. The Intel 4004 still holds the 1st microprocessor since it was monolithic semiconductor to contain the ALU/CPU/Control/Registers. Monolithic is the key word for a microprocessor being singe chip for the key components. Again the MP944 is very novel just not the first microprocessor. It's subjective no doubt.
I told Mark I loved him before early on and he answered back. I hold that dearly to my heart forever. Lol your the man mark. The channel I've searched high and low for
My brother was a Navy trained aircraft electrician. After he came home he worked at Grumman and helped to install the wiring harnesses into the prototype F-14.
Thanks for the episode, Dr. Felton - my father's team developed the attack computer program at the Bethpage Plant, and to this day he detests the "I've got tone!" line uttered by Tom Cruise. He went on to help develop the analog computer used in the Lunar LEM, and was key in helping Apollo 13 get back home...his saying, "Never underestimate a slide rule". I agree. USAF Security Police, Retired.
Thanks Dr. Felton!
Hi Mark, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode dealing with a somewhat more modern topic than usual. I hope that you keep sprinkling such episodes in.
They’re so beautiful, the F14 Tomcat is an iconic piece of aviation history
Thank you Mark! Well done in all categories! I seem to have been missing out, as I was focussed on your historic material . . . .
You mean the Grumman Iron Works made an airplane that lasted over 50 years? Those guys sure knew how to build them.
wait till you learn about B-52s........
@@Blackadder75 Yeaaahhhhh, buuuutttt.....the Tomcat ist a Fighter so it faces much Higher G-loads, which Stresses the airframe more, which leads much more Fatigue Cracks.
The B-52's flight regime ist much gentler in the airframe.
And all B-52 Currently in Service are B-52Hs build from 1961 to 1962.
So barely 14-16 years older than the Iranian F-14 and with OEM Support.
If you Take the much more punishing flight Regime, the Lack of OEM Support, Lack of spätes, daily Combat Missions for 8 years, that makes the Iranian Tomcat's longevity much more impressive.
Exit: typos.
My brother helped build the B1 bomber for Rockwell international back in the 80s,
Grumman also made the LEM, a solid yet lightweight pure spacecraft.
Every aircraft requires constant maintenance to get that longevity in its record. Even a little Cessna 152 requires (mandatory) inspections and maintenance.
Be aware that an F-14 will only be able to reach max speed in a clean condition. In a useful combat configuration with missiles and fuel tanks, it'll be no faster and indeed probably slower than an F-35, which can carry a stealth optimised weapon load internally.
Good point! It's prudent to recall that F-35's aren't meant to dogfight. They are snipers who can reach out and touch the bad guys long before the bad guys know the Penguins are there. Yes, that is the F-35's nickname. There's another one that's even less complimentary...
@@gordonbergslien30 The USAF calls them Fat Amy. I see them alongside F-16s around Luke AFB a lot and when you see an F-35A next to a F16, the nickname makes sense.
@@tolson57 When you see one? The name makes sense when you hear one let alone see it! Was up at Katherine, and you could hear the Fat Amys from RAAF base Tindall through their entire flight route from take off till landing, they make heaps of noise pushing their fat asses through the air. They'd do the same flights in Super Hornets and you'd only hear them when they were nearby.
Apparently F35s are like driving a ton of bricks. No fun at all once you've flown a Super Hornet.
The F35 can only reach maximum speed in short bursts. So if a F14 is slowed to mach 1.5 by wing mounted weapons, it is still faster as it can maintain that speed without and I quote Lockheed Martin here 'Risk of serious and irrepairable damage to the airframe.'
The F35 also needs to concede internal space for fuel, as it's range is shockingly short. The most likely clash between an F14 and F35 would be an Iserali raid. So it needs to fit air to air missiles, a few decent sized bombs and sufficient fuel to get to it's target(which, given we are talking F14s would be in Iranian airspace, or MAYBE Eastern Iraq or Syria). All of this to say, the moment Iseralis detect a bird coming towards their F35 they are high tail 'supersonic bursting' it back home, because they are probably not carrying air to air missiles(assuming they want to carry bombs that can actually do something).
Also, stealth can be worked around. Does everyone keep forgetting about how the Serbians shot down a B2 in Kosovo!?
@@rileyernst9086It was an F-117, no B2 has ever been downed in combat, although tactically still impressive.
*What a remarkably timely and apposite post Mark. **_CHEERS!_* 👍😎🥃
The F14 is such a beautiful plane!
The F-14 was introduced around the same time as the F-15 and F-16, which are still relevant in modern war. F-14 are still a capable aircraft, the US Navy dropped them because they were very high maintenance aircraft and had limited air to surface capabilities, it was designed for fleet protection not ground attack. The F/A 18 is much more versatile and could do both missions at lower cost. Also, in the hands of Tom Cruise, F-14s are still very deadly.
Ever hear of the Bomcat?
@@wicky383 Yes, a 90s modification of the F14 for ground attack. An after production modification. The F14 was not originally designed for such a role. F/A 18 was.
Around the same time but maybe just a bit too early to keep up with the other two. There is a Curious Droid video on the F-14 which calls it the last analogue fighter.
@tz8785 Remember that the (D) was Digital and had FBW in the end! 😊
@@michaelporzio7384 Apparently that's not true. The F-14 was designed with an air-ground capability from the outset but, in the 1970s, the political preference was for specialised aircraft so the decision was made to focus entirely on the counter-air roles. In the 1990s they just had to dust off the existing AWG-15 fire control system and teach the RIO's to use it. The difficult bit was integrating the LANTIRN laser targeting pod.
Thanks!
Great video. Thanks Dr. Felton
A video by my favourite history channel on my favourite plane. Christmas came early this year!
Ironically, in 50 years museums will be buying F-14 out of Iran for their static collections
I sure hope so. In fact, such a program could be the starting point of dialog between the nations.
If there are any museums in 50 years.
@@scockerywhy shouldn't there be museums in 50 years from now?
@@cactuslietuva Have you been watching the worldwide news???
@@999torino so? humanity will always wage wars. We have evolved from the monkeys, so teritory conflicts are in our blood.
I was on the Enterprise in 73 or 74 in an A7 outfit. Saw the first F14 landing on the Big E. It was flown by Grumman. Impressive aircraft.
Incredible video. It’s nice to see the big fighter still getting some love.
Mr. Felton you productions are world class and your voiceovers are on par with the best the BBC has ever had! Great job with your work in my opinion!
They really are a beautiful and iconic aircraft
I remember seeing Top Gun when I was 5, and I became absolutely obssessed with the F-14. Had my parents buy me books, technical manuals, as many toys as as were available. I always tell people who were big Star Wars fans growing up that Top Gun was MY Star Wars, and its because of that jet. Looking at the diecast F-14B with the VF-103 'Jolly Rogers' livery on my desk as I type this, so the obsession is still alive and well nearly 40 years on.
Always enjoyed the brief mention in Red Storm Rising of the Iranian F14's
I think u mean executive orders
I swear Mark is my long lost twin. Everything topic I find fascinating, he makes a video about. I've always been a tomcat fanboy!
Great topic! These F-14A's are from the late 1970's I can only imagine they are installing Russian or Chinese radar systems in their fleet. Many thanks for posting Dr. Mark!
Probably not. The AN/AWG-9 x band in the old F-14s is an excellent radar.
Thanks for making this great video mark
Very modern video on your channel you usually upload ww2 and earlier videos I loved it
Excellent as always
Thank you
"Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft, 49) Paperback" Good Reference in analyzing the value of the F-14 to the IRIF
Thank you Mark, have a good weekend ❤
In basic training at Lackland A.F.B. back in '76 I saw foreign men marching in step. These were the Shah's fighter pilots training .
I always enjoy your videos. And your pronunciations were perfect.
Back in the day, Israel was evaluating the F15 and the F14. They tested them both in the US. In the end, they chose the F15.
Grumman was headquartered in my home town of Bethpage, NY (though the F-14s were built further east on Long Island). My dad ran a warehouse that was next door to a Grumman building where some of the Iranian pilots would train.
The Iranian pilots would sometimes come over to buy items in the warehouse showroom.
Greece is still flying F4 "Phantom"
And I believe Turkey as well.
They are the last countries to fly them as japan retired their F4's in 2021
Ironic the three last countries operating the F4 (Greece, Turkey and Iran) are all geographically in a row.
Greece is replacing all old planes with F 35, upgraded F-16 Viper and some Rafael’s for the mix.
@@creauspssrb627 South Korea retired theirs this year.
I wasnt expecting to see War Thunder promotional art in the thumbnail of a Mark Felton video. Great video as always!
Thank you Sir
Old F-4 pilot Shoe🇺🇸
Always interesting and educational! Cheers, Mark!
🎵 Highway to the Danger Zone 🎶
Always thought it was the best looking of the modern fighters. Glad at least you can still see them in museums.
The spare parts problem was pretty much solved in the 1990's. The advent of open market CNC machines, and esp the past decade, metal aerospace grade 3D printers probably means the F-14 and F-4 programs have a secure set of spares. Iran builds F-5 frames from scratch.
F-5s from scratch? No they aren't. They are recycling/modifying old F-5 airframes, mainly for propaganda purposes. A while back they had a dog and pony show where they showed off a new aircraft, which close-up photography revealed to be a plywood mock-up. They can't even make civil aircraft, 100% of Iran Air's fleet consisting of Airbus or Boeing products. It's a lot simpler to make a civil airliner than a warplane.
Cuz they could, way before the Revolution due to licensing.
Great episode Mark
Iranian here. It still amazes me how some Americans, even in this day and age, can believe in propaganda and wholeheartedly accept the stereotype of Iranians as literally jihadist Tusekn Raiders bent on destroying the Western world. Human psychology truly is fascinating.
For a second there I thought there was a mistake that the F-14 was replaced by the Super Hornet, not just the Hornet. But, I looked into it, and even though the F-18 Hornet existed prior, it was the Super Hornet that filled the role of the F-14. Good attention to detail Mark.
Its not a detail
@@DudemeisterNL Why not?
As good as the plane may be, all things being equal, the pilot is the deciding factor.
Think about what you just said. If the plane is different then all things aren't equal. Your sentence is logically inconsistent and will lead to the implosion of the universe in 3...2...1
Muppet
@@darkjudge8786 they are going to be times when the pilot is key .
For exsample ground attack aircraft the warthogs they take a high degree of skill to fly and use in close surpport of troops on the ground .
@@timothypowell6298it is indeed the warthog pilot commiting friendly fire and not the plane
Excellent video
Are we going to have an Iron Sheikh vs Hulk Hogan rematch soon?
Another great one from our Doctor! Thanks!
Well, that rocked ... .. Thanks... Liked Subscribed Shared...
The Russians still sport the MiG-31 which flies just as high if not higher and just as fast if not faster than the Tomcat. It also boast a super powerful long range radar on par with the Tomcat's. It's achieved the highest A2A kill ratio in Ewekraine. Dogfighting capability aside it easily equals or surpasses the F-14's success for use in recon and early warning long range detection.
The first combat deployment of the F-14 was at the very end of Vietnam, flying CAP for the evacuation of Saigon in 1975.
Sweet war thunder thumbnail and good video as per usual! It amazes me how Iran is still able to keep these hangar queens flying lol
I can only imagine the maintenance issues that come about from operating a 50 year old aircraft.
A 50 year old aircraft that's long run out of spare parts and high level maintenance and factory support at that.
@@r2gelfand that’s probably why the USAF is upgrading its B-52 fleet
And with decades outdated avionics! There are NO replacement parts.
I'm curious as to how many hours are on the airframes. Especially the wing boxes, spars, and pivot gear for the swing wings.
Not many flight hours going on them. They might have a couple dozen of them still "serviceable" meaning that they can get off the ground and fly, but combat capable probably fewer than 10 at best. Most are probably torn apart for inspections and parts fabrication more often than not. I assume that all remaining aircraft are cobbled together chunks of other aircraft, jury rigged systems and pieces and parts of non-F14 aircraft adapted and bolted on to keep them semi-functional.
This is like the Wright Flyer been competitive with 1950s Sabre jets! Wild.
It's not just speed that makes it dangerous, it's the powerful long range radar and fire control systems, which can track and engage up to 6 targets simultaneously. The Phoenix missile was built for this system and has a range of something like 80 nm, but who knows if the Iranian home-built replacement missile is as capable. They made it look like a Phoenix anyway.
It was also RF-4Cs that flew many of those 'almost suicidal' Dark Gene/Ibex missions.
It is important to note, the F-15, F-16, and even the Mig-29, all still frontline fighters in major nations to this day (and still being produced), are of the same or similar age. The design of the F-14 is capable enough to equip nations still, IF and only IF it continues to receive updated weapons and avionic packages like the US inventory of F-15 and F-16s. While Iran is capable of doing that itself, it cannot build entirely new airframes, thus, age and attrition is taking over. The US has F-15s and F-16s in service, but not the same original airframes built in the 70's and 80's, those airframes did not have necessary updates, and over the years the airframes themselves fatigue. No matter how diligent the maintenance and updates made for the F-14's, they will continue to become more and more unreliable, until they are no longer cost effective to operate.
Stunning and attractive piece of aviation engineering. Allways one of my boyhood favourites during the plastic model kit years... 😂❤
The claim at 4:38 that Iraq was close to the US in 1980 is incorrect. Iraq was aligned with the USSR and the vast majority of its military hardware came from the Soviet Union. For the US, the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 was a war between 2 states both hostile to the US. This is why Henry Kissinger once quipped about the war that "It's a shame they can't both lose."
You can review some footage of Donald Rumsfeld all smiles with Saddam shaking hands for the reporters.
Yeah, they got almost nothing from the US in that war other than satellite photographs and precursor chemicals for nerve gas.
Do you think a photo app proves anything? I was alive then I remember those days Saddam was never a US Ally@@kardondo
@@1962brennan
I was also alive in those days and while Iraq was never officially a US ally. It was seen as the lesser of two evils.Hence Donald Rumsfleld
meeting Saddam and Iraqi officers receiving military training in the United States.Saddam may have officially been a Soviet ally. But
Saddam was hedging his bets by trying to be as friendly to America as circumstances would permit.
Remember that other Soviet aligned Arab states such as Egypt and Syria would become allies with the United States against Iraq
in the 1991 Gulf War.
Iran had captured our embassy and taken American hostages. Later,Iran would support terrorist groups that kidnapped Americans and
hijacked planes with American passengers. Iran also supported the terrorist group that blew up the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983.
Iraq had attacked Iran and was killing tens of thousands of Iranian child soldiers doing "meat wave" attacks.
In 1987,when an Iraqi jet hit the USS Stark with an exorcet missile.The US swept that under the rug. But would launch a one day
naval war with Iran in 1988 over Iranian actions against the US Navy.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" springs to mind.
very cool mark!
This vehicle was recently added to War Thunder as part of an event. That is why everyone is talking about it right now, lol.
Great video, as always!
The Iranian purchase of 80 F-14s was key to the US Navy's being able to afford the fighter jet. Development costs led to a per-airplane price that the Navy could not afford on its own. The Shah purchase not only got him the world's first "superfighter," it subsidized the US Navy's purchase.
iran also paid for 300 F-16s but never got their money back when the deal was cancelled, imagine how much that helped with the F-16 program.
@@Pvt_Wade Thank you. I did not know that.
@@Pvt_Wade 150 F-16s with an option for 150 more. Also another huge allotment of Phoenix missiles, but they never got delivered. Iran didnt even get all of its original Tomcats, just 79 delivered.
@@hoghogwild all of that but they never bothered to buy AIM-7F or AIM-9H
The Iranian airforce is like an aviation museum!
My book, One Of A Kind, The Grumman Story, has an X29 on the cover, goes into detail on this sale to Iran. My brother and father were lifers at Grumman. My brother said after we stopped helping them that the radar assembly was stolen from grounded F14s. The needed matinance need for them makes them very expensive to maintain. I can't belive they are still flying.
How many were fully paid for up front but never delivered due to the severance of the relationship ?
"It's not the plane. It's the pilot."
Capt. Pete Mitchell
A very timely piece.
Keeping the Tomcats operational is a massive flex on the USA. CAD and 3D printing have probably helped restore more aircraft to service. They probably get help from China. There’s a term in the aircraft industry called “Chinese blueprint” which means to manufacture something from a sample. China is, of course, very good at reverse engineering. They have also redesigned systems locally. One thing they were very proud of was their braking systems and how they were superior to OEM. The Tomcat was designed to operate from aircraft carriers and use tail hooks instead of brakes. So they left some room for improvement perhaps.
Now how they keep the TF-30s going is beyond me.
When those fighters were sold to Iran, during the time of the Shah, one of my uncles worked for the contractor that supplied the fighter jet radar. They needed one person to move to Iran to train the forces there. It was between him and a coworker. The coworker went. When the Shah fell everyone had to get out quickly. His coworker was there and had to get out leaving everything he owned behind.
Always very interesting and factual
The Shah was a man of taste , no compromise , even for his planes.....
It's not just about upgrading the planes. At some point the airframes themselves will become too 'tired' to keep functioning at combat-level.
0:45 thats a mouthful Mark Felton
It is a testament to the Iranian Air Force that they can keep these airframes flying.
No, it's a testament to Grumman.
It’s a nice change to hear Mark talking about a plane that isn’t WW1 or WW2.😊
Most badass jet of all time in my opinion