The reason the maintenance costs get hiogher is they were built using manufacturing techniques developed in the 1970s. The pivoting wing mechanism needed a lot of work to keep working smoothly. Modernizing it required massive redesigns. …and mostly, keeping both the F/A-18 and the F-14 meant carrying spare parts for both aircraft, where if you just have the F/A-18 you only need spares for one plane.
So, a thing to know about planes, is that every time the fly, the need extensive maintenance afterwards. So when the video says it was less costly to fly the F-18 than the F-14, it's not just talking about fuel, but all the repair work needed to make sure the plane is ready to go again the next time time. As a side note, while not a pilot myself, I consider it a great shame that the US did not adopt the F-21 Super Tomcat as a next generation fighter when replacing the F-14.
I LOVE this plane. The engines before D were notoriously finicky (r.i.p. Goose) and I understand the wing root hinge box area was a source of stress fatigue issues. Mega expensive to repair. D model solved a lot but still a pricey plane, like the F-22 of its age.
@@jonadabtheunsightly They had fighter jets! The Skystriker! They go for hundreds of dollars these days on eBay. My brother had one but I always had it as if it was mine. Wings swept with a lever on the top. Came with four missiles and I think attached center line fuel tank. Two pilots maybe and ejection seats with parachutes attached. GI Joe was indeed primarily infantry but had support vehicles and specialty troops of every type needed. They had a AH-1 attack chopper with spinning blades and a pilot that wore a big blue Stetson Calvary cowboy hat and an underwater mini sub named shark I think with a wet suit driver for that, just to mention a couple of the many others.
6:38 There is a point where it becomes cheaper to replace an airframe then it is to keep maintaining on. This is because of metal fatigue and the cost of parts. You have to understand that once they stop producing new airframes it becomes more expensive to buy new parts because less are being made.
Also, with the combination of lessons learned from the previous model + newer technology and manufacturing techniques + building for maintainability = it's cheaper to buy the new model. It's not all that different from cars. Eventually that beautiful new car is going to become a quirky old clunker that becomes more expensive to maintain then it's actually worth. There's a whole science to this...
Iran purchased several F-14s when they were allied with the United States. The 1979 Iranian Revolution ended that relationship, and the U.S. Navy had to destroy their Tomcats to prevent Iran from obtaining spare parts.
And they were just recently all destroyed when Israel responded to Irans first direct attack. The squadron was know as the “Scourge of the Middle East”. Now, no more.
@@Anubis78250the F-14 is still a serious combat airplane. Even with sanctions, occasionally there were attempts to source F-14 spares by Iran. Apparently they managed to get their hands on them the old fashioned way. Bribery and theft. So, except for a few exceptions, the remaining F-14 tomcats were shredded with the remains destroyed. Iran still has a number of F-14s in service. They (the Iranians) have managed to find ways to build some needed spares and make some upgrades. The remaining planes are still a potent threat to be taken seriously.
@@Anubis78250 no, what happened was Iran bought a squadron of F-14s literally just before the Iranian revolution. They were already in their hand when the current Iranian government seized the country and our citizens there as hostages. The timing was just poor. But now those F-14s are all gone.
Even without proper support against The Iranians managed an impressive 130-4 with 4 more lost to ground fire vs Iraq in their protracted war against them. Iraqis apparently don't fight in the air any better than on the ground. Still 130-4 is a damned impressive record.
The Tomcat is my favorite jet. I've seen it in person many times. I got to go meet the ships he was on when they came into port. My brother worked on these planes during his whole navy career. He enlisted in 1971 and retired in 1994. His A school was in Millington, Tennessee for Aviation Electronics where he studied the F-14 electronics. His first base was at Miramar, California just as the F-14s were being delivered there. During his career he was stationed on the Enterprise (twice), the Connie, and the Carl Vinson. And also Miramar, CA, Honolulu, HI, Lemoore, CA, Diego Garcia, Japan, Philippines. And was always working on the Tomcat. 🙂 Big beautiful Cat.
This plane was my icon as a kid in the 80's. My mom, being as amazing as she is, booked a hotel across from Miramar (across the street from where Tom Cruise does his motorcycle on the runway scene) so that I could watch the airplanes.
Quite possibly the most beautiful naval fighter ever designed. Yes, the F/A-18 is sleeker, But I challenge you to compare a video or picture of a roll away break from both aircraft and tell me which one looks better, especially with the wings swept. She was a challenging design, was a deadly test aircraft, but she did her job as an interceptor very well and could have gone a bit further than even the "Bombcat" -D model if they had not decided she was too costly to maintain.
@@massmike11 the F-15 had the exact same weapons as a f-14. The F-15. I looked it up man. They both carry the long-range Sparrow. The Phoenix were mid-range missiles. And the sidewinders for up close
@@georgeyarbrough88my friend…only the F14 carried the Phoenix which had a range of 100 miles. Sparrow is the mid range for F14 and long range for F4/F15/16/18 until the AMRAAM took its place. Phoenix is still longest range AA missile US has had in service until the AIM-260 becomes active with range of 120 miles and it will be available in all current fighter platforms 15/18/22/35
@@massmike11exactly. The AIM-54 Phoenix was only carried by the F14. 6 of them due to its size but it could attack 6 targets at once from 100 miles away with the Phoenix.
In the 80s I was stationed abroad the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). We had F14 squadrons when we deployed. I was an expediter. Finding critical F14 components. It was pretty cool.
The F/A-18 was put into service only shortly after the F-14, so it isn't so much a replacement as a change in emphasis for different missions. The F-14 was a big plane, so you could fit only so many of them on a carrier. It is also not a stealth aircraft, so the actual replacement is the F-35. OTOH, the F-14 is flat out beautiful, and there is no substitute for that.
That isn't really right. The F/A-18 that you are thinking about has been largely replaced in the US Navy with FA-18E/F Super Hornets which don't have much in common with the original Hornet other than looks (the Super Hornet is larger though). The E/F Hornets first entered production in 1995 and leveraged a lot of technology that had been developed as part of the F-22 competition. While the F/A-18 E/F super hornets are about 20% larger they were designed in a way to reduce their radar cross section, incorporate some radar absorbing materials into the airframe and the navy intends to use the Super Hornet. The Super Hornet also has a lot of the data sharing capability that the F-35 has. The other major advantage the Super Hornets have over the F-35C is range with it having almost twice the combat range of the F-35C.
@@abeginningwoodworker8169 I 100% believe the ending of the F-14 largely was political and change in operations Political in the sense that they marketed the super hornet as being able to do everything which would mean that it should be able to do the job the tomcat was doing. Operational because we where no longer fighting groups capable of damaging a strike group so the Interceptor role was not necessary where as having more aircraft to conduct airstrikes and the occasional air target was much preferred. I personally don't like the choice because now that we are in a staring comp with china's navy they could make a first attack outside the range of a hornet or lightning where as an interceptor with even 25% more range then a hornet would make that calc much harder for the bean counters in bejing.
This aircraft is my favorite plain that was in the US Navy. Before the F14. The Corsair was my favorite. But I was born in 72' as the F14 was being made. It's so cool with the way the wings can move to adjust the speed you want. The next plain that I love is the A10 "warthog"
I was in VF-101 Grim Reapers early in my Naval career. I had the privilege of working on and even took a few small flights in a tomcat. Definitely one of the highlights of my career. Just feeling the awesome power that plane would put out.
My understanding is that the Tomcat was designed primarily as a high-speed interceptor big enough to carry the Phoenix missile. The Phoenix, while not very maneuverable, had a huge range, which was needed to shoot down Soviet long range bombers carrying those huge, long range anti-ship missiles, before they could launch.
Like a car, the older a plane gets, the more things have to be replaced and routine maintenance takes longer and costs more. Eventually some things need to be replaced that would require extensive disassembly/reconstruction.
9:47 Iran was sold a lot of American military equipment under the Shah of Iran before his government was overthrown in 1979. They were an ally to America and overnight became an enemy. America mainly supported Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.
The Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Palavhi, has lived in exile for decades and is calling for the Iranian people to overthrow the theocratic dictators who rule Iran. He promises to lead the country's transition to democracy. We should support the Iranian people in their attempt to free themselves from tyranny.
I had a friend whose big brother was an F-14 Driver back in the late 70's. He told us some great stories from his time behind the stick. He reluctantly also told us about things he saw not of this Earth..after a few drinks.
Andre think of a paperclip. As you bend it back and forth it becomes weaker until it breaks. The same thing happens with the aircraft, the metal gets stressed as they're flown. After a certain period you have to start replacing parts. The older they are the more closely they need to be checked, the more frequently, and the longer it takes. In the F14s case the swept wings are a big problem - the systems required for it put even more maintenance requirements. The same thing is what the problem with the A10 is - the older F15 and F16s also have the same issue but they're put into storage before it gets to that point.
@@rg20322 B52s are a strategic nuclear asset, so the DoD can justify the cost. Most airworthy B-52's are almost entirely different airplanes from when they were made because of how many parts have been replaced, only the basic shell of the bombers are the same. That, and it would cost even more to make new bombers than it does to upgrade the existing fleet (just look up the program cost for the B-21, yikes). Fighter aircraft are usually more cost effective to retire rather than upgrade after a certain point because the airframes have much higher performance standards than a bomber. Even then, a vast majority of the B-52 fleet is in long-term storage out in the desert.
The F-14 was a huge aircraft, which is another reason that US Navy got rid of them, there is only so much space onboard an aircraft carrier. I was in the US Navy up the fall of 2003, we already knew the end was coming and fast for the F-14. It was part of the last generation of military fighters that were designed for one job, after them all fighters with exception of the F-22 where designed as multi-role fighters.
Was on the Forrestal when 4:53 Top Gun came out, if youve never seen two of them at night with their afterburners on and the blue concentric rings in the flames, you missed somthing, had one break the sound barrier about fifty feet from me in the Gulf of Sidra
You should watch more videos regarding this fighter jet. It was very heavy and expensive to maintain. However, it was an amazing aircraft for its time for sure and the F18 does not compare. My father was in the Navy for over 20 years and served all his time on aircraft carriers. He was in both Gulf Wars. He was responsible for the overall maintenance of the F14 and its flyability.
The deal with extending airframe life is that air doesn't change over time, if the aerodynamic design is solid it will always be solid. You only have to worry about mechanical obsolescence and structural fatigue. Unfortunately in the case of the F-14 they rely on a custom made titanium wing root structure that used secret and proprietary processes to make... processes that were abandoned to time after their production run. Without spares to replace worn out units, that's the end of the F-14 because these cannot be repaired, only replaced.
This is not correct. The Tomcat was in production until 1989 and the Box Beam was the strongest part of the airframe. It was so strong that in at least one case, a new Tomcat was built around the Box Beam of a crashed Tomcat. There were plenty of people around from Grumman that had experience building the Box Beam. The F-14D had a strengthen airframe based on the experience with the F-14A. The Swing Wing system was one of the most reliable systems on the jet. Most of the maintenance expense was due to the Radar, Fire Control, and avionics systems because the parts were hard to get as they were over 25 years old. The F-14D resolved about of those problems. All electronics system in any US fighter aircraft can be upgraded or replaced without changes to the airframe. I was in the Navy for 20 years and I spent those years working on the Radar, Fire Control, and avionics systems in the F-14. I made 6 cruises supporting the Tomcat on the Ranger, Kitty Hawk, and Constellation. Had the Tomcat been given the upgrades that other aircraft, like the F-15 has had over its lifetime, the cost per flight hour problems would have been solved. Today, after taking into account inflation, the F-18 E/F costs more per flight hour now that the F-14A cost when it was retired.
F 14 retired around 2007 from the US Navy. The F14 was made after the F111 B failed to impress the Navy. Yet the Navy and DOD needed a platform to use their Pheonix missile. Gruman before becoming Northop Gruman gave 4 variations in its 4 decades. It was a very expensive to maintenance because of the engines and it swept wings. Also the amount of wear and tear from taking off aircrafts. The F14 made famous from movies like Top Gun and the final countdown had a great career. It shot down 2 Mig 27 over the Sea near Libya. Its been on duty near operation el dorado, operation desert storm, operation iraqi freedom, etc. With Iran, the Shah bought in 1977 over 70 F14As. After the shah was overthrown, F14s gave some pilots over 5 jets in the Iraq and Iran war. Iran for decades have tried to steal parts in the United States. Today maybe 17 still are active in a Frankenstein state, and last we saw 1 was escorting Putin into Tehran in 2023.
The US sold Tomcats to Iran during the reign of the Shah. Once he was deposed, many of the Iranian Tomcats were disabled so they could not be used. Iran demanded the US send replacement parts for the Tomcats but we refused. It is a bad ass jet.
The F/A 18 is all about efficiency. It's not really great at anything. But it's extremely flexible and cost effective. The A in F/A stands for Attack. As in ground attack. It's a jack of all trades.
The movie “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise flew F-14 fighters. They rocked!. The US installed the shah of Iran back in 1958 & provided millions in military support. After the Iranian revolution congress passed embargo’s of military technology to Iran. That’s why we stopped supplying weapons to them.?
This was my favorite plane. It was so badass. Unfortunately the swing wing mechanisms deteriorated quickly in the salty air of the sea. Making it cost prohibitive.
My father flew these, and A-7s for the Air Force. Back in the 70s, they would slow down as much as possible, drop down just below the rim of the grand canyon and slowly fly in a row between the cliffs...😮
think about buying a car part for a 50 year old car. Let's say a windshield. They aren't interchangeable with every other car. If you can't find one that fits, you have to pay a manufacturer to make one just for you. Think of how much more that would cost than replacing one on a 3 year old car. Now realize this is a jet, not a car, A bad part can cause catastrophic results and these parts are significantly more expensive than car parts; even from the start we're talking a pool of several thousand units at most rather than 100k's of units of popular cars.
This jet was not only legendary, it was a monster, OUR monster, and a game-changer. Everyone involved with this project should be thanked for having changed world history.
The variable swept wing design made this jet expensive to maintain along with other factors. The F14 did ALOT of heavy lifting around the globe for decades for the Navy.
Another Iconic aircraft that is due to be phased out is the A-10 a plane that has the ability to send the enemy running just by the brrrt sound of it's gun. A legend for the close air support role that will be hard to replace.
Near 1990 two f-14 Tomcats were doing training exercises over a wildlife refuge. Suddenly both changed curse in our direction falling from nearly 3000 feet to some 700 feet in less than 30 seconds and passing over us, making our legs shake and leaving us so scared that we decided to go home immediately. And after that seeing them flying at 1000 feet very slowly over the village was like a slow-motion movie. Was like they were using antigravity to stay in the air. That old plane can do that to anyone. Noisy to the hell!
The F-14 Tomcat was world renowned. It even inspired the "Valkyrie" / "Veritech" fighters in the Macross/Robotech anime! Truly one of the sexiest planes ever made.
My favorite fighter jet of all-time. A 2-seater able to go great distances (and inflight refuel), that was so fast and maneuverable for the time, and those so sexy twin after-burners & wings, goodness! For nostalgia alone it would be a close 1st place, but all these things combined will keep it top of my list.
If you haven't yet, check out the F-15. 104-0 kill to loss record, only jet to ever shoot down a satellite in orbit, and one even flew back to base with one wing after a mid-air collision. Just a badass jet
Aside from all of the comments from the experts and others who have had experience with this gorgeous aircraft, my comment has to do with your question as to whether this plane was well known or famous to the American public. You need only to watch the original movie, Top Gun. If you have not seen this movie, you really should. Excellent movie!!!
In the days of Reza Pahlavi, the lasts Shah of Iran before Pres. Carter the Peanut deposed him, Iran was our Allied. They trained at Lackland AFB when I was there and I remember having to paint the old MOB dorms for the next bunch coming though. I was in Basic Training then.
The Iranian Shah had purchased a number of F-14A's in the years prior to the Muslim revolution there. The Iranian "Ali-Cat's" had actually accrued more air to air kills in their war with Iran than the US fleet had in their entire lifespans. To prevent any source of spare parts from being purchased by Iran, all the non-museum -14's were scrapped shortly after being decommissioned.
6:38 remember in the video about big American cars you said it was hard and expensive to buy spare parts. The same thing happens to airplanes when they stop mass production. The companies that make individual part have to stop their production lines and make new parts for newer design airplanes. So 20 years later, the spare parts are expensive to repair and hard to come by.
Not being aware of the F-14 is super crazy, everyone knows of the plane. When people think aircraft carrrier they think of two planes, the Tomcat and the Harrier.
You may wish to examine the A-6 Intruder or the EA-6. The A-6 was a Navy bomber. The EA-6 was an electronic jammer type plane. It had up to 4 pilot/NFOs. (Naval Flight Officers). Iran’s Shah had F-14s so that is why the Iranians still have them.
The F-14 tomcat has been my all time favorite aircraft since I was a child in the 80s! It was so awesome that it passed multiple service performance tests and head to head competitions with other fighter jets despite it's age and size. In the end the only real enemy it couldn't defeat was the cost to maintain them compared to the other fights... Though the Delta Seep wings gave it a variable dynamic to adapt to various combat rolls and missions. The man hours of maintenance that it took to counter the corrosive nature of ocean mist on the variable wings exposed mechanical areas . Still the Baddest Mofo in my books! Tomcat Pilots could pull off maneuvers most other jets couldn't even dream of, even the smaller and lighter MIGs found themselves in serious trouble trying to dogfight with the F-14's! The "Cobra" maneuver was invented by F-14 Tomcat pilots.
Actually, no. We supported Iraq during that war. That's how they got the chemical weapons in the first place. We supported the Shah of Iran before the revolution.
you should react to top gun and see why every kid from my generation wanted to be a fighter pilot. The recent sequel is one of the best sequels in history
At the time that the F-14 was retired, the military was more focused on ground support and bombing over the idea of shooting down other aircraft. Looking at the engagements over the last 30 years, that held true as that the U.S. has not fought a country with a strong air force let alone any air power at all. The maintenance time for a F14 was about 80-man hours for every hour of flight, vs 40-man hours for every hour of flight as is needed for the F18. The F14 also burns more jet fuel per hour of flight compared to the F18. This makes the F18 less expensive to operate. The other issues with all aircraft, and specifically fighter jets, they become more and more dangerous to fly the hours that they have been flown. Eventually they need to be grounded for the safety of the pilot. For navy aircraft, landing and taking off of an aircraft carrier fatigues the metal, and eventually the airframe cannot take it. This is about 10,000 hours for the F18. If a jet was flown for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, that means that after less than 5 years, the aircraft has to be retired. If the military is having to replace aircraft at that rate, then they might as well choose an aircraft that is more affordable to fly.
Once production of any weapon system ends, that means that any replacement parts specific to that system are going to be a real problem as that system ages. As an example: Besides the enormous crew requirements, my understanding is that the other reason that the Iowa class battleships were all retired is that the engineering plants were worn out, and any replacement parts would require production lines to be built from scratch. Likewise for the barrel liners of the main 16" guns.
They tested this jet at a Naval Base in Maryland where my dad was stationed. Years later, my husband’s buddy from the Naval Academy became an F-14 pilot in San Diego. In fact, his flight instructor was a technical advisor for the film, “Top Gun.” So, you can say I knew about this plane. 😂
Fighter - bomber replaced by FA-18a. Big fighter. I still can't believe we slung these things off of boats. I'm pretty sure every landing on a boat was God's work.
The F14s in Iran date back to when the Shaw was in power. He was considered to be our friend. When control changed hands in Iran, the fact that they had F14s was very much a sore point and is why we made certain that they didn't have a source of replacement parts for the planes that were a very high maintenance aircraft. It was a phenomenal plane but parts and repair were expensive and often needed.
It's not that maintaining the F-14 was more expensive than building one, it was just that maintenance for it was vastly more expensive than other jets the US had. It was more expensive because of both the complex electronics and the sweeping wing-system. Remember, jets are being subjected to incredible G-forces all along the body, all the engine and electronic parts are experiencing these forces which is why these jets are maintained to ratios of 'hours of maintenance per minute of flight'. That said, it can eventually become more expensive to maintain an aircraft than to just build a new one after they go out of production and spare parts and people to maintain the aircraft begin to go away.
@European Reacts I was a US Navy Jet Mechanic back in the 1980's. So from a "layman's" perspective, part of the extra cost of flying the F14 was the fact that they would blow out O-Rings on their hydraulic systems all the time. And even without blowing them out, they'd just leak a lot of hydraulic fluid. Great jet though. And in regards to the Iran Iraq war - We DID NOT support Iran, but we did supply both sides with arms. The only reason Iran has any F4 Phantoms, or F14s is because we sold them to them before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Nearly 40 tons of raw, Don't F with me!" power. Big, heavy, FAST, and lethal--all wrapped in a super sexy swing-wing package. Still the sexiest plane on the planet.
The 1970s were miserable: economic recession, dependence on foreign (OPEC) sources for oil/energy, lack of confidence in US leaders as a result of Watergate and other scandals, and perceived existential threat from the Soviet Union. The F-14 Tomcat was manufactured by Grumman on Long Island, NY where I grew up. Hearing and seeing these amazing jets overhead as they were run through final testing before delivery to the military restored our faith in our country. Five decades later I can still hear in my mind the roar of their engines and the sense of safety that came with them. Thank you all for your service to our country.
The F/A-18 F Super Hornet is a bit longer than the original F/A-18 Hornet. It has a slightly different ordinance load as well. It can carry a bit more than the original version. The Super Hornet entered service in 1999 while the regular Hornet entered service in 1983 and replaced the F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair (both Vietnam-era airplanes)
The maintenance problem for these planes was the computer systems were of 70s vintage and can only upgrade so much on old computer systems. This was the idea behind the cancelation of thw Tomcat 21 program mentioned but was cheaper to take f18 instead of replace with new f14s
The F-14 was designed around a single missile. The variable swept wing was expensive, complicated, and heavy. The F-14 was also pretty big and do to the swept wing it could not use folding wings to save space on the aircraft carrier. The missile had a crazy long range so they needed a very powerful radar. While it could carry other missiles and bombs it was not that good at those roles until they added the weapons pod. With some upgrades in its computers, navigation, communications... and integration of the targeting system used in the pod as well as the ability to use a wider range of missiles and bombs. The problem is stealth has become far more important. It is really best as an interceptor, which means it would compete against the F-22 and as a carrier jet it more competed against the Super Hornet and the F-35C. Because it was larger they could fit more F/A-18 on the deck and the F/A-18 used less fuel and parts. So would 50 F-14 or 70 F/A-18 be better on a carrier? Speed really is not important any more except for an interceptor. They have to take off and intercept an enemy aircraft before it crosses into their airspace. This is literally the ONLY advantage of speed. The problem is they typically can not add a new aircraft to their assets without getting rid of one do to financial and logistical limitations. That is why the F-117 and the F-14 were decommissioned. Aircraft just do not dogfight any more. Stealth is crazy important because they can detect, fire on, and leave the area before the enemy aircraft can even detect it give the stealth aircraft a HUGE advantage. 5th generation aircraft also have super-cruise letting them travel at above Mach 1 without afterburners. This lets them travel faster over longer distances than even a much faster aircraft like the F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18. Communications is the other key factor of a 5ht generation. The ability to change targets of missiles mid flight and the ability to fire on a target that another aircraft has a lock on as well as the ability to share radar data from multiple air, sea, space, and ground radar systems all make for a much more powerful aircraft. Wrap this all in an aircraft with the radar cross section of a bumble bee and you see why the US has such a huge advantage. No other country has been able to make a true 5th generation aircraft yet. They have actually delayed the 6th generation aircraft because there is no real need. Do to no other country even being able to make a 5th generation aircraft and the US being so far ahead they are holding off on them. Basically a 6th generation has all the features of the 5th generation, but can fly without a pilot, control a cluster of attack and bombing drones, likely have a laser defense system, and be able to reach Mach 3. The cost would be pretty extreme, so for now it is on hold... not because it failed somehow. They will keep working on it, but most countries like China and Russia are 20-30 years behind and countries like North Korea and Iran are more like 30-50 years behind. Of course the US made some pretty capable stuff back in the 80s, but an F-15 just can not compete against and F-22 or F-35.
In the 50s America developed the fastest higest flying jet ( ufo ) to ever exist ( to our knowledge ) , the SR - 71 and it was flying in the 60s . You must watch a few videos on it. It Is so badass.
The US sold F14 Tomcats to the Shah of Iran before the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Keeping the Iranians from being able to maintain their F14s was a significant effort, and is one reason the plane was replaced and the molds for the parts destroyed.
The Tomcat was expensive to maintain meaning it required 40-60hrs of maintenance per flight hour. If you watched the first Topgun movie Tom Cruise flew a Tomcat. It was actually filmed on my squadron’s flight line and those were our planes.
Swing-wing aircraft are harder to maintain and more expensive because of the extra costs involved. The swing wing pivot takes immense amounts of stress during flight, and require more intense upkeep programs over it's fixed wing counterparts, because there are no moving parts ind stress loads are disperse3d over a larger area. The swing wing design is also the weak point of the B1 bomber, which has been retired due to wear to the wing pivots and surrounding areas. While not having the same speed, here are some advantages the F-18 Hornet has over the F14, including greater nose authority in a dogfight.
After each flight you have to do X maintenance functions, after so many miles you have to completely remove and overhaul the engines. With the Tomcat you ALSO have to fly it so much to prevent rust and build up from keeping the adjustable wings from seizing and do maintenance on those. Basically, the Tomcat had sooo much and was so new that it wasn't built in a way that makes it's tear down and maintenance fast or easy. Compare to a fight where you could say remove the engine do the maintenance on the rest of the plane fast and simply then pop another engine in and go. The tomcat was a beast of a plane but being a beast isn't always the right plane for the job.
Yeah, it's pretty famous. I've seen countless fly overhead when I was young and impressionable and of an age to go into the Navy when the movie Top Gun was on the screens. If you haven't seen that movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. Then watch Top Gun: Maverick.
You should check out the ORIGINAL " Top Gun " movie { not the more current re-make } . It is basically a promo for the F-14 Tomcat . What you need to understand about the economics of " keep upgrading the old plane versus making a wholly new model " is the power of the military -industrial complex in the USA .The military hardware makers make more money by researching and making completely NEW planes , tanks , ships , etc than they do supplying replacement parts for old equipment . The generals who recommend the new equipment and the crooked politicians who approve the massive expenditure on NEW equipment also make their money on kick-backs from the manufacturers . It is a very elite club , and THE TAXPAYERS AIN"T IN IT .
They mention the F-15 Eagle, which is getting juiced. The F-22 and F-35 sacrifice range and weapon payload for stealth and maneuverability. The revamped F-15EX Eagle II (I think is the variant) is going to be the Air Force's heavy duty fighter. Caring more about how hard and how much it can punch than if the enemy sees the punch coming.
Maintenance is a huge deal in militaries, very expensive not only in parts but people hours. The Hornet has almost half the parts of the Tomcat. It's a newer airframe design that negates the need for a swing wing. Plus, airframes just need replacing eventually.
The F/A-18 had an estimated flight cost/hour between $10,000 and $15,000. The F-14 in comparison was between $25,000 and $30,000. Even though the world marvels at the U.S.A.'s defense budget, after the fall of the Soviet Union it was cut a lot and the Tomcat was a casualty of that.
Part of why older jets are older to maintain is because some of parts of the jets were made by companies that no longer exist, meaning you would either A have to cannibalize parts off of aircraft that you’re not using anymore (which is what Iran is doing with their old F-14s) or B have to completely remake that company from the ground up, which will only last a couple more decades tops as newer aircraft are made, making the F-14s obsolete, making the companies that you remade from the ground up go out of business again. It would be much cheaper and have less heartache to just make a newer aircraft.
Have you seen the special planes that flys into, around and literally in the eye of a Hurricane? If not I think you would appreciate and respect. The people who train and literally fly into storms no matter what country I respect.
one thing to take into consideration is that the F-14 is huge. compared to the F-16 and F-18, the F-14 is monstrously large. it was large because it needed to be to do what it was designed to do with the tech that was available at the time. it consumes more fuel, has more moving parts, etc. and although it is incredibly agile for it's size, it really can't do what the F-16 and F-18 can do in terms of agility. F-18 is pretty old too now, with newer tech planes taking over. F-14 is a great plane, but there are better planes the money could be dedicated to. If there were roles the F-14 ruled at, then it might be worth the added cost (kind of the position the A-10 is in, it's the king in that role, doesn't make sense to bury it) but there isn't. still a capable plane, but it isn't better than alternatives.
The Shah of Iran, the last monarch of Iran from 1941 when he succeeded his father, until 1979 when he was overthrown by the Iranian revolution which established the Islamic Republic. In the late 1960s, Iran had become wealthy with sales of oil and purchased millions of dollars of military equipment from the US. When the US became reluctant to contine selling military equipment to Iran, the Shah turned to the Soviet Union who agreed to sell $110 million in weapons. This Soviet option caused the US to resume selling weapons to Iran. He also bought weapons from UK, France and Italy. I can only assume he purchased F-14 bombers from the US.
Before the Shah of Iran was kicked out of the country, he purchased the jets from the USA. The military in Iran came here to learn how to fly them. We had a lot of Iranian military here where I live in the 70s. I miss those days.
I was a mechanic on these planes in the navy... Yess bad ass plane
Will always be my favorite jet fighter.
Thank you for your service. ❤
Thank You for your Service ! 👍
One of my cousins was the same, but in the Air Force. She's a bad ass!
Thank you for your service! My husband worked on the Army's comparable machines, but in the late '80s in Germany.
The reason the maintenance costs get hiogher is they were built using manufacturing techniques developed in the 1970s. The pivoting wing mechanism needed a lot of work to keep working smoothly. Modernizing it required massive redesigns. …and mostly, keeping both the F/A-18 and the F-14 meant carrying spare parts for both aircraft, where if you just have the F/A-18 you only need spares for one plane.
So, a thing to know about planes, is that every time the fly, the need extensive maintenance afterwards. So when the video says it was less costly to fly the F-18 than the F-14, it's not just talking about fuel, but all the repair work needed to make sure the plane is ready to go again the next time time.
As a side note, while not a pilot myself, I consider it a great shame that the US did not adopt the F-21 Super Tomcat as a next generation fighter when replacing the F-14.
I LOVE this plane. The engines before D were notoriously finicky (r.i.p. Goose) and I understand the wing root hinge box area was a source of stress fatigue issues. Mega expensive to repair. D model solved a lot but still a pricey plane, like the F-22 of its age.
Yeah, and also it's not a fair comparison beyond that. The F-18 is a great plane, but there are things it can't do now, that the F-14 did years ago.
Famous? It's the original Top Gun plane.
xWAS going to say this lol
Not only Top Gun, but also the fighter jet of G.I. Joe !!
@@gibu002 G.I. Joe had fighter jets? I thought it was (fictionally) an infantry force.
@@jonadabtheunsightly They had fighter jets! The Skystriker! They go for hundreds of dollars these days on eBay. My brother had one but I always had it as if it was mine. Wings swept with a lever on the top. Came with four missiles and I think attached center line fuel tank. Two pilots maybe and ejection seats with parachutes attached.
GI Joe was indeed primarily infantry but had support vehicles and specialty troops of every type needed. They had a AH-1 attack chopper with spinning blades and a pilot that wore a big blue Stetson Calvary cowboy hat and an underwater mini sub named shark I think with a wet suit driver for that, just to mention a couple of the many others.
@@jonadabtheunsightly yea they had apache helos as well as jets and a carrier... and they were featured in the cartoon as well as the toy market
6:38 There is a point where it becomes cheaper to replace an airframe then it is to keep maintaining on. This is because of metal fatigue and the cost of parts. You have to understand that once they stop producing new airframes it becomes more expensive to buy new parts because less are being made.
Also, with the combination of lessons learned from the previous model + newer technology and manufacturing techniques + building for maintainability = it's cheaper to buy the new model. It's not all that different from cars. Eventually that beautiful new car is going to become a quirky old clunker that becomes more expensive to maintain then it's actually worth. There's a whole science to this...
Iran purchased several F-14s when they were allied with the United States. The 1979 Iranian Revolution ended that relationship, and the U.S. Navy had to destroy their Tomcats to prevent Iran from obtaining spare parts.
And they were just recently all destroyed when Israel responded to Irans first direct attack.
The squadron was know as the “Scourge of the Middle East”. Now, no more.
I always thought that was ridiculous. Just don't send them any. You're telling me Iran can show up at US bone yards and get whatever they need?
@@Anubis78250the F-14 is still a serious combat airplane. Even with sanctions, occasionally there were attempts to source F-14 spares by Iran. Apparently they managed to get their hands on them the old fashioned way. Bribery and theft. So, except for a few exceptions, the remaining F-14 tomcats were shredded with the remains destroyed. Iran still has a number of F-14s in service. They (the Iranians) have managed to find ways to build some needed spares and make some upgrades. The remaining planes are still a potent threat to be taken seriously.
@@Anubis78250 no, what happened was Iran bought a squadron of F-14s literally just before the Iranian revolution. They were already in their hand when the current Iranian government seized the country and our citizens there as hostages.
The timing was just poor. But now those F-14s are all gone.
Even without proper support against The Iranians managed an impressive 130-4 with 4 more lost to ground fire vs Iraq in their protracted war against them. Iraqis apparently don't fight in the air any better than on the ground. Still 130-4 is a damned impressive record.
The movie “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise flew F-14 fighters. They rocked!
The Tomcat is my favorite jet. I've seen it in person many times. I got to go meet the ships he was on when they came into port.
My brother worked on these planes during his whole navy career. He enlisted in 1971 and retired in 1994. His A school was in Millington, Tennessee for Aviation Electronics where he studied the F-14 electronics. His first base was at Miramar, California just as the F-14s were being delivered there.
During his career he was stationed on the Enterprise (twice), the Connie, and the Carl Vinson. And also Miramar, CA, Honolulu, HI, Lemoore, CA, Diego Garcia, Japan, Philippines. And was always working on the Tomcat. 🙂 Big beautiful Cat.
This plane was my icon as a kid in the 80's. My mom, being as amazing as she is, booked a hotel across from Miramar (across the street from where Tom Cruise does his motorcycle on the runway scene) so that I could watch the airplanes.
Quite possibly the most beautiful naval fighter ever designed. Yes, the F/A-18 is sleeker, But I challenge you to compare a video or picture of a roll away break from both aircraft and tell me which one looks better, especially with the wings swept. She was a challenging design, was a deadly test aircraft, but she did her job as an interceptor very well and could have gone a bit further than even the "Bombcat" -D model if they had not decided she was too costly to maintain.
I grew up by Hamilton AFB. Those planes sometimes caused sonic booms that would make the whole house shake. It wss cool to watch them fly, for sure.
the F-14 was the first jet in US inventory that could see and kill an enemy plane at over 100+ miles away
No the eagle was the first plane that could do that. This was the first Navy plane that could do that.
Nope, F-15 had no weapon that could reach out that far.
@@massmike11 the F-15 had the exact same weapons as a f-14. The F-15. I looked it up man. They both carry the long-range Sparrow. The Phoenix were mid-range missiles. And the sidewinders for up close
@@georgeyarbrough88my friend…only the F14 carried the Phoenix which had a range of 100 miles. Sparrow is the mid range for F14 and long range for F4/F15/16/18 until the AMRAAM took its place. Phoenix is still longest range AA missile US has had in service until the AIM-260 becomes active with range of 120 miles and it will be available in all current fighter platforms 15/18/22/35
@@massmike11exactly. The AIM-54 Phoenix was only carried by the F14. 6 of them due to its size but it could attack 6 targets at once from 100 miles away with the Phoenix.
In the 80s I was stationed abroad the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). We had F14 squadrons when we deployed. I was an expediter. Finding critical F14 components. It was pretty cool.
The F/A-18 was put into service only shortly after the F-14, so it isn't so much a replacement as a change in emphasis for different missions. The F-14 was a big plane, so you could fit only so many of them on a carrier. It is also not a stealth aircraft, so the actual replacement is the F-35. OTOH, the F-14 is flat out beautiful, and there is no substitute for that.
This doesn't make sense. The F-35 is a multi-role fighter while the F-14 is an interceptor.
That isn't really right. The F/A-18 that you are thinking about has been largely replaced in the US Navy with FA-18E/F Super Hornets which don't have much in common with the original Hornet other than looks (the Super Hornet is larger though). The E/F Hornets first entered production in 1995 and leveraged a lot of technology that had been developed as part of the F-22 competition. While the F/A-18 E/F super hornets are about 20% larger they were designed in a way to reduce their radar cross section, incorporate some radar absorbing materials into the airframe and the navy intends to use the Super Hornet. The Super Hornet also has a lot of the data sharing capability that the F-35 has.
The other major advantage the Super Hornets have over the F-35C is range with it having almost twice the combat range of the F-35C.
@@abeginningwoodworker8169 I 100% believe the ending of the F-14 largely was political and change in operations
Political in the sense that they marketed the super hornet as being able to do everything which would mean that it should be able to do the job the tomcat was doing.
Operational because we where no longer fighting groups capable of damaging a strike group so the Interceptor role was not necessary where as having more aircraft to conduct airstrikes and the occasional air target was much preferred.
I personally don't like the choice because now that we are in a staring comp with china's navy they could make a first attack outside the range of a hornet or lightning where as an interceptor with even 25% more range then a hornet would make that calc much harder for the bean counters in bejing.
This aircraft is my favorite plain that was in the US Navy. Before the F14. The Corsair was my favorite. But I was born in 72' as the F14 was being made.
It's so cool with the way the wings can move to adjust the speed you want.
The next plain that I love is the A10 "warthog"
I was in VF-101 Grim Reapers early in my Naval career. I had the privilege of working on and even took a few small flights in a tomcat. Definitely one of the highlights of my career. Just feeling the awesome power that plane would put out.
My understanding is that the Tomcat was designed primarily as a high-speed interceptor big enough to carry the Phoenix missile. The Phoenix, while not very maneuverable, had a huge range, which was needed to shoot down Soviet long range bombers carrying those huge, long range anti-ship missiles, before they could launch.
The last 2 1/2 of my 10 years in the Navy I repaired the radar components of the F-14. Bad ass airplane.
Like a car, the older a plane gets, the more things have to be replaced and routine maintenance takes longer and costs more. Eventually some things need to be replaced that would require extensive disassembly/reconstruction.
Well said. Old stuff gets old, no matter how well built. Thanks and sorry Mom and Dad. :)
9:47 Iran was sold a lot of American military equipment under the Shah of Iran before his government was overthrown in 1979. They were an ally to America and overnight became an enemy. America mainly supported Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.
The Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Palavhi, has lived in exile for decades and is calling for the Iranian people to overthrow the theocratic dictators who rule Iran. He promises to lead the country's transition to democracy. We should support the Iranian people in their attempt to free themselves from tyranny.
I had a friend whose big brother was an
F-14 Driver back in the late 70's. He told us some great stories from his time behind the stick. He reluctantly also told us about things he saw not of this Earth..after a few drinks.
Driver? >_>
@@g0dsf3ar71 "Driver" is the nickname for the pilot. You also had the RIO (Radio Intercept Officer). The guy who manned the back seat on F-14s.
Andre think of a paperclip. As you bend it back and forth it becomes weaker until it breaks. The same thing happens with the aircraft, the metal gets stressed as they're flown. After a certain period you have to start replacing parts. The older they are the more closely they need to be checked, the more frequently, and the longer it takes. In the F14s case the swept wings are a big problem - the systems required for it put even more maintenance requirements. The same thing is what the problem with the A10 is - the older F15 and F16s also have the same issue but they're put into storage before it gets to that point.
Soooo - what about the B52's? More stress, or same, and it's all about money and new development. Let's get real.
@@rg20322 B52s are a strategic nuclear asset, so the DoD can justify the cost. Most airworthy B-52's are almost entirely different airplanes from when they were made because of how many parts have been replaced, only the basic shell of the bombers are the same. That, and it would cost even more to make new bombers than it does to upgrade the existing fleet (just look up the program cost for the B-21, yikes). Fighter aircraft are usually more cost effective to retire rather than upgrade after a certain point because the airframes have much higher performance standards than a bomber. Even then, a vast majority of the B-52 fleet is in long-term storage out in the desert.
The F-14 was a huge aircraft, which is another reason that US Navy got rid of them, there is only so much space onboard an aircraft carrier. I was in the US Navy up the fall of 2003, we already knew the end was coming and fast for the F-14. It was part of the last generation of military fighters that were designed for one job, after them all fighters with exception of the F-22 where designed as multi-role fighters.
Was on the Forrestal when 4:53 Top Gun came out, if youve never seen two of them at night with their afterburners on and the blue concentric rings in the flames, you missed somthing, had one break the sound barrier about fifty feet from me in the Gulf of Sidra
You should watch more videos regarding this fighter jet. It was very heavy and expensive to maintain. However, it was an amazing aircraft for its time for sure and the F18 does not compare. My father was in the Navy for over 20 years and served all his time on aircraft carriers. He was in both Gulf Wars. He was responsible for the overall maintenance of the F14 and its flyability.
The deal with extending airframe life is that air doesn't change over time, if the aerodynamic design is solid it will always be solid. You only have to worry about mechanical obsolescence and structural fatigue.
Unfortunately in the case of the F-14 they rely on a custom made titanium wing root structure that used secret and proprietary processes to make... processes that were abandoned to time after their production run. Without spares to replace worn out units, that's the end of the F-14 because these cannot be repaired, only replaced.
I came here to say the exact same thing
This is not correct. The Tomcat was in production until 1989 and the Box Beam was the strongest part of the airframe. It was so strong that in at least one case, a new Tomcat was built around the Box Beam of a crashed Tomcat. There were plenty of people around from Grumman that had experience building the Box Beam. The F-14D had a strengthen airframe based on the experience with the F-14A. The Swing Wing system was one of the most reliable systems on the jet. Most of the maintenance expense was due to the Radar, Fire Control, and avionics systems because the parts were hard to get as they were over 25 years old. The F-14D resolved about of those problems. All electronics system in any US fighter aircraft can be upgraded or replaced without changes to the airframe.
I was in the Navy for 20 years and I spent those years working on the Radar, Fire Control, and avionics systems in the F-14. I made 6 cruises supporting the Tomcat on the Ranger, Kitty Hawk, and Constellation. Had the Tomcat been given the upgrades that other aircraft, like the F-15 has had over its lifetime, the cost per flight hour problems would have been solved.
Today, after taking into account inflation, the F-18 E/F costs more per flight hour now that the F-14A cost when it was retired.
@@tolson57 ah what could have been makes me sad, such extraordinary technology abandoned by suits
F 14 retired around 2007 from the US Navy. The F14 was made after the F111 B failed to impress the Navy. Yet the Navy and DOD needed a platform to use their Pheonix missile. Gruman before becoming Northop Gruman gave 4 variations in its 4 decades. It was a very expensive to maintenance because of the engines and it swept wings. Also the amount of wear and tear from taking off aircrafts. The F14 made famous from movies like Top Gun and the final countdown had a great career. It shot down 2 Mig 27 over the Sea near Libya. Its been on duty near operation el dorado, operation desert storm, operation iraqi freedom, etc. With Iran, the Shah bought in 1977 over 70 F14As. After the shah was overthrown, F14s gave some pilots over 5 jets in the Iraq and Iran war. Iran for decades have tried to steal parts in the United States. Today maybe 17 still are active in a Frankenstein state, and last we saw 1 was escorting Putin into Tehran in 2023.
The US sold Tomcats to Iran during the reign of the Shah. Once he was deposed, many of the Iranian Tomcats were disabled so they could not be used. Iran demanded the US send replacement parts for the Tomcats but we refused. It is a bad ass jet.
The F/A 18 is all about efficiency. It's not really great at anything. But it's extremely flexible and cost effective. The A in F/A stands for Attack. As in ground attack. It's a jack of all trades.
FA18 hornet is the plane that tom Cruze flew in the latest Top Gun movie... the first top gun he flew one of these
The movie “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise flew F-14 fighters. They rocked!. The US installed the shah of Iran back in 1958 & provided millions in military support. After the Iranian revolution congress passed embargo’s of military technology to Iran. That’s why we stopped supplying weapons to them.?
This was my favorite plane. It was so badass. Unfortunately the swing wing mechanisms deteriorated quickly in the salty air of the sea. Making it cost prohibitive.
My father flew these, and A-7s for the Air Force. Back in the 70s, they would slow down as much as possible, drop down just below the rim of the grand canyon and slowly fly in a row between the cliffs...😮
The USAF never flew the F-14, it was a USN airplane. The USAF did fly the A-7D.
If I had a dollar for every person that supposedly flew an F-14, I would have more dollars than Tomcats.
think about buying a car part for a 50 year old car. Let's say a windshield. They aren't interchangeable with every other car. If you can't find one that fits, you have to pay a manufacturer to make one just for you. Think of how much more that would cost than replacing one on a 3 year old car. Now realize this is a jet, not a car, A bad part can cause catastrophic results and these parts are significantly more expensive than car parts; even from the start we're talking a pool of several thousand units at most rather than 100k's of units of popular cars.
My all time favorite jet fight of all.
This jet was not only legendary, it was a monster, OUR monster, and a game-changer. Everyone involved with this project should be thanked for having changed world history.
Yes, Andre the F-14 Tomcat was the most iconic navy Fleet defense aiircraft the uss navy ever had, even over the F-18,
The variable swept wing design made this jet expensive to maintain along with other factors. The F14 did ALOT of heavy lifting around the globe for decades for the Navy.
Another Iconic aircraft that is due to be phased out is the A-10 a plane that has the ability to send the enemy running just by the brrrt sound of it's gun. A legend for the close air support role that will be hard to replace.
The f18 is the jet the Blue Angels currently fly
Oh wow❤
Near 1990 two f-14 Tomcats were doing training exercises over a wildlife refuge. Suddenly both changed curse in our direction falling from nearly 3000 feet to some 700 feet in less than 30 seconds and passing over us, making our legs shake and leaving us so scared that we decided to go home immediately. And after that seeing them flying at 1000 feet very slowly over the village was like a slow-motion movie. Was like they were using antigravity to stay in the air. That old plane can do that to anyone. Noisy to the hell!
The F-14 Tomcat was world renowned. It even inspired the "Valkyrie" / "Veritech" fighters in the Macross/Robotech anime! Truly one of the sexiest planes ever made.
My brother was in the Air Force and actually was a mechanic for the F14 and F15 jets.
Dang the USAF used F-14s? I thought only USN did. I'm ignorant
My favorite fighter jet of all-time. A 2-seater able to go great distances (and inflight refuel), that was so fast and maneuverable for the time, and those so sexy twin after-burners & wings, goodness! For nostalgia alone it would be a close 1st place, but all these things combined will keep it top of my list.
If you haven't yet, check out the F-15. 104-0 kill to loss record, only jet to ever shoot down a satellite in orbit, and one even flew back to base with one wing after a mid-air collision. Just a badass jet
Aside from all of the comments from the experts and others who have had experience with this gorgeous aircraft, my comment has to do with your question as to whether this plane was well known or famous to the American public. You need only to watch the original movie, Top Gun. If you have not seen this movie, you really should. Excellent movie!!!
In the days of Reza Pahlavi, the lasts Shah of Iran before Pres. Carter the Peanut deposed him, Iran was our Allied. They trained at Lackland AFB when I was there and I remember having to paint the old MOB dorms for the next bunch coming though. I was in Basic Training then.
The Iranian Shah had purchased a number of F-14A's in the years prior to the Muslim revolution there. The Iranian "Ali-Cat's" had actually accrued more air to air kills in their war with Iran than the US fleet had in their entire lifespans. To prevent any source of spare parts from being purchased by Iran, all the non-museum -14's were scrapped shortly after being decommissioned.
I always enjoy these military videos. I am embarrassed that I live in a city that produces military aircraft, but I know very little about them.
F18 Hornet and Super Hornet are definitely bad asses. You’ve probably seen them before and just didn’t know it. Check out a video about it.
6:38 remember in the video about big American cars you said it was hard and expensive to buy spare parts. The same thing happens to airplanes when they stop mass production. The companies that make individual part have to stop their production lines and make new parts for newer design airplanes. So 20 years later, the spare parts are expensive to repair and hard to come by.
Not being aware of the F-14 is super crazy, everyone knows of the plane. When people think aircraft carrrier they think of two planes, the Tomcat and the Harrier.
Love that scene @ 10:58
For a fighter of that considerable size, it’s pretty versatile and agile. The Tomcat is indeed legendary.
You may wish to examine the A-6 Intruder or the EA-6. The A-6 was a Navy bomber. The EA-6 was an electronic jammer type plane. It had up to 4 pilot/NFOs. (Naval Flight Officers).
Iran’s Shah had F-14s so that is why the Iranians still have them.
The F-14 tomcat has been my all time favorite aircraft since I was a child in the 80s!
It was so awesome that it passed multiple service performance tests and head to head competitions with other fighter jets despite it's age and size. In the end the only real enemy it couldn't defeat was the cost to maintain them compared to the other fights...
Though the Delta Seep wings gave it a variable dynamic to adapt to various combat rolls and missions. The man hours of maintenance that it took to counter the corrosive nature of ocean mist on the variable wings exposed mechanical areas .
Still the Baddest Mofo in my books!
Tomcat Pilots could pull off maneuvers most other jets couldn't even dream of, even the smaller and lighter MIGs found themselves in serious trouble trying to dogfight with the F-14's! The "Cobra" maneuver was invented by F-14 Tomcat pilots.
Actually, no. We supported Iraq during that war. That's how they got the chemical weapons in the first place. We supported the Shah of Iran before the revolution.
you should react to top gun and see why every kid from my generation wanted to be a fighter pilot. The recent sequel
is one of the best sequels in history
The F-14 Tomcat, pure production perfection.
The "Cats" (which is what we called them when I was in), we had a saying, "When the Cats go out to play, the bad guys go away". Semper Fi.
At the time that the F-14 was retired, the military was more focused on ground support and bombing over the idea of shooting down other aircraft. Looking at the engagements over the last 30 years, that held true as that the U.S. has not fought a country with a strong air force let alone any air power at all. The maintenance time for a F14 was about 80-man hours for every hour of flight, vs 40-man hours for every hour of flight as is needed for the F18. The F14 also burns more jet fuel per hour of flight compared to the F18. This makes the F18 less expensive to operate. The other issues with all aircraft, and specifically fighter jets, they become more and more dangerous to fly the hours that they have been flown. Eventually they need to be grounded for the safety of the pilot. For navy aircraft, landing and taking off of an aircraft carrier fatigues the metal, and eventually the airframe cannot take it. This is about 10,000 hours for the F18. If a jet was flown for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, that means that after less than 5 years, the aircraft has to be retired. If the military is having to replace aircraft at that rate, then they might as well choose an aircraft that is more affordable to fly.
Once production of any weapon system ends, that means that any replacement parts specific to that system are going to be a real problem as that system ages.
As an example:
Besides the enormous crew requirements, my understanding is that the other reason that the Iowa class battleships were all retired is that the engineering plants were worn out, and any replacement parts would require production lines to be built from scratch. Likewise for the barrel liners of the main 16" guns.
They tested this jet at a Naval Base in Maryland where my dad was stationed. Years later, my husband’s buddy from the Naval Academy became an F-14 pilot in San Diego. In fact, his flight instructor was a technical advisor for the film, “Top Gun.” So, you can say I knew about this plane. 😂
Retired USN 80s still flying around North Island San Diego.Onboard USN ships seeing a Low and Fast pass Unbelievable Cool!
Fighter - bomber replaced by FA-18a. Big fighter. I still can't believe we slung these things off of boats. I'm pretty sure every landing on a boat was God's work.
The F14s in Iran date back to when the Shaw was in power. He was considered to be our friend. When control changed hands in Iran, the fact that they had F14s was very much a sore point and is why we made certain that they didn't have a source of replacement parts for the planes that were a very high maintenance aircraft. It was a phenomenal plane but parts and repair were expensive and often needed.
My all time favorite jet!!!... F-14 Tomcat 🔥🤘 so damn beautiful
It's not that maintaining the F-14 was more expensive than building one, it was just that maintenance for it was vastly more expensive than other jets the US had. It was more expensive because of both the complex electronics and the sweeping wing-system. Remember, jets are being subjected to incredible G-forces all along the body, all the engine and electronic parts are experiencing these forces which is why these jets are maintained to ratios of 'hours of maintenance per minute of flight'.
That said, it can eventually become more expensive to maintain an aircraft than to just build a new one after they go out of production and spare parts and people to maintain the aircraft begin to go away.
@European Reacts I was a US Navy Jet Mechanic back in the 1980's. So from a "layman's" perspective, part of the extra cost of flying the F14 was the fact that they would blow out O-Rings on their hydraulic systems all the time. And even without blowing them out, they'd just leak a lot of hydraulic fluid. Great jet though. And in regards to the Iran Iraq war - We DID NOT support Iran, but we did supply both sides with arms. The only reason Iran has any F4 Phantoms, or F14s is because we sold them to them before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Nearly 40 tons of raw, Don't F with me!" power. Big, heavy, FAST, and lethal--all wrapped in a super sexy swing-wing package. Still the sexiest plane on the planet.
The 1970s were miserable: economic recession, dependence on foreign (OPEC) sources for oil/energy, lack of confidence in US leaders as a result of Watergate and other scandals, and perceived existential threat from the Soviet Union. The F-14 Tomcat was manufactured by Grumman on Long Island, NY where I grew up. Hearing and seeing these amazing jets overhead as they were run through final testing before delivery to the military restored our faith in our country. Five decades later I can still hear in my mind the roar of their engines and the sense of safety that came with them. Thank you all for your service to our country.
Not to mention disco, paisley shirts, and Richard Nixon.
The F/A-18 F Super Hornet is a bit longer than the original F/A-18 Hornet. It has a slightly different ordinance load as well. It can carry a bit more than the original version. The Super Hornet entered service in 1999 while the regular Hornet entered service in 1983 and replaced the F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair (both Vietnam-era airplanes)
Iran and the us were friendly until the hostage crisis
The maintenance problem for these planes was the computer systems were of 70s vintage and can only upgrade so much on old computer systems. This was the idea behind the cancelation of thw Tomcat 21 program mentioned but was cheaper to take f18 instead of replace with new f14s
The F-14 was designed around a single missile. The variable swept wing was expensive, complicated, and heavy. The F-14 was also pretty big and do to the swept wing it could not use folding wings to save space on the aircraft carrier. The missile had a crazy long range so they needed a very powerful radar. While it could carry other missiles and bombs it was not that good at those roles until they added the weapons pod. With some upgrades in its computers, navigation, communications... and integration of the targeting system used in the pod as well as the ability to use a wider range of missiles and bombs. The problem is stealth has become far more important.
It is really best as an interceptor, which means it would compete against the F-22 and as a carrier jet it more competed against the Super Hornet and the F-35C. Because it was larger they could fit more F/A-18 on the deck and the F/A-18 used less fuel and parts. So would 50 F-14 or 70 F/A-18 be better on a carrier? Speed really is not important any more except for an interceptor. They have to take off and intercept an enemy aircraft before it crosses into their airspace. This is literally the ONLY advantage of speed. The problem is they typically can not add a new aircraft to their assets without getting rid of one do to financial and logistical limitations. That is why the F-117 and the F-14 were decommissioned.
Aircraft just do not dogfight any more. Stealth is crazy important because they can detect, fire on, and leave the area before the enemy aircraft can even detect it give the stealth aircraft a HUGE advantage. 5th generation aircraft also have super-cruise letting them travel at above Mach 1 without afterburners. This lets them travel faster over longer distances than even a much faster aircraft like the F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18. Communications is the other key factor of a 5ht generation. The ability to change targets of missiles mid flight and the ability to fire on a target that another aircraft has a lock on as well as the ability to share radar data from multiple air, sea, space, and ground radar systems all make for a much more powerful aircraft. Wrap this all in an aircraft with the radar cross section of a bumble bee and you see why the US has such a huge advantage. No other country has been able to make a true 5th generation aircraft yet.
They have actually delayed the 6th generation aircraft because there is no real need. Do to no other country even being able to make a 5th generation aircraft and the US being so far ahead they are holding off on them. Basically a 6th generation has all the features of the 5th generation, but can fly without a pilot, control a cluster of attack and bombing drones, likely have a laser defense system, and be able to reach Mach 3. The cost would be pretty extreme, so for now it is on hold... not because it failed somehow. They will keep working on it, but most countries like China and Russia are 20-30 years behind and countries like North Korea and Iran are more like 30-50 years behind. Of course the US made some pretty capable stuff back in the 80s, but an F-15 just can not compete against and F-22 or F-35.
In the 50s America developed the fastest higest flying jet ( ufo ) to ever exist ( to our knowledge ) , the SR - 71 and it was flying in the 60s . You must watch a few videos on it. It Is so badass.
The US sold F14 Tomcats to the Shah of Iran before the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Keeping the Iranians from being able to maintain their F14s was a significant effort, and is one reason the plane was replaced and the molds for the parts destroyed.
It was very impressive for the time
The Tomcat was expensive to maintain meaning it required 40-60hrs of maintenance per flight hour. If you watched the first Topgun movie Tom Cruise flew a Tomcat. It was actually filmed on my squadron’s flight line and those were our planes.
Swing-wing aircraft are harder to maintain and more expensive because of the extra costs involved. The swing wing pivot takes immense amounts of stress during flight, and require more intense upkeep programs over it's fixed wing counterparts, because there are no moving parts ind stress loads are disperse3d over a larger area. The swing wing design is also the weak point of the B1 bomber, which has been retired due to wear to the wing pivots and surrounding areas. While not having the same speed, here are some advantages the F-18 Hornet has over the F14, including greater nose authority in a dogfight.
this was the best plane F14 Tomcat
After each flight you have to do X maintenance functions, after so many miles you have to completely remove and overhaul the engines. With the Tomcat you ALSO have to fly it so much to prevent rust and build up from keeping the adjustable wings from seizing and do maintenance on those. Basically, the Tomcat had sooo much and was so new that it wasn't built in a way that makes it's tear down and maintenance fast or easy. Compare to a fight where you could say remove the engine do the maintenance on the rest of the plane fast and simply then pop another engine in and go. The tomcat was a beast of a plane but being a beast isn't always the right plane for the job.
Final Countdown, best F-14 combat scene imo.
Yeah, it's pretty famous. I've seen countless fly overhead when I was young and impressionable and of an age to go into the Navy when the movie Top Gun was on the screens. If you haven't seen that movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. Then watch Top Gun: Maverick.
You should check out the ORIGINAL " Top Gun " movie { not the more current re-make } . It is basically a promo for the F-14 Tomcat . What you need to understand about the economics of " keep upgrading the old plane versus making a wholly new model " is the power of the military -industrial complex in the USA .The military hardware makers make more money by researching and making completely NEW planes , tanks , ships , etc than they do supplying replacement parts for old equipment . The generals who recommend the new equipment and the crooked politicians who approve the massive expenditure on NEW equipment also make their money on kick-backs from the manufacturers . It is a very elite club , and THE TAXPAYERS AIN"T IN IT .
They mention the F-15 Eagle, which is getting juiced. The F-22 and F-35 sacrifice range and weapon payload for stealth and maneuverability. The revamped F-15EX Eagle II (I think is the variant) is going to be the Air Force's heavy duty fighter. Caring more about how hard and how much it can punch than if the enemy sees the punch coming.
Maintenance is a huge deal in militaries, very expensive not only in parts but people hours. The Hornet has almost half the parts of the Tomcat. It's a newer airframe design that negates the need for a swing wing. Plus, airframes just need replacing eventually.
The F/A-18 had an estimated flight cost/hour between $10,000 and $15,000. The F-14 in comparison was between $25,000 and $30,000. Even though the world marvels at the U.S.A.'s defense budget, after the fall of the Soviet Union it was cut a lot and the Tomcat was a casualty of that.
Part of why older jets are older to maintain is because some of parts of the jets were made by companies that no longer exist, meaning you would either A have to cannibalize parts off of aircraft that you’re not using anymore (which is what Iran is doing with their old F-14s) or B have to completely remake that company from the ground up, which will only last a couple more decades tops as newer aircraft are made, making the F-14s obsolete, making the companies that you remade from the ground up go out of business again. It would be much cheaper and have less heartache to just make a newer aircraft.
I think the F-14 could launch all 14 missiles at one time (max).
The AIM 54 Phoenix Air to Air Missile was a game changer at the time it was made especially for the F 14 Tomcat
Have you seen the special planes that flys into, around and literally in the eye of a Hurricane? If not I think you would appreciate and respect. The people who train and literally fly into storms no matter what country I respect.
one thing to take into consideration is that the F-14 is huge. compared to the F-16 and F-18, the F-14 is monstrously large. it was large because it needed to be to do what it was designed to do with the tech that was available at the time. it consumes more fuel, has more moving parts, etc. and although it is incredibly agile for it's size, it really can't do what the F-16 and F-18 can do in terms of agility. F-18 is pretty old too now, with newer tech planes taking over. F-14 is a great plane, but there are better planes the money could be dedicated to. If there were roles the F-14 ruled at, then it might be worth the added cost (kind of the position the A-10 is in, it's the king in that role, doesn't make sense to bury it) but there isn't. still a capable plane, but it isn't better than alternatives.
The Shah of Iran, the last
monarch of Iran from 1941 when he succeeded his father, until 1979 when he was overthrown by the Iranian revolution which established the Islamic Republic. In the late 1960s, Iran had become wealthy with sales of oil and purchased millions of dollars of military equipment from the US.
When the US became reluctant to contine selling military equipment to Iran, the Shah turned to the Soviet Union who agreed to sell $110 million in weapons. This Soviet option caused the US to resume selling weapons to Iran. He also bought weapons from UK, France and Italy. I can only assume he purchased F-14 bombers from the US.
My favorite fighter jets in order are the F-15 is first, the F4 is second, and F-14 third. Absolutely badass fighter.
Whats crazy is how big this plane is in person
Before the Shah of Iran was kicked out of the country, he purchased the jets from the USA. The military in Iran came here to learn how to fly them. We had a lot of Iranian military here where I live in the 70s. I miss those days.
F14 and F15 always were the coolest.
The Iranian F-14's are very early ones and date back to the Shah's regime before the Ayatollahs took power. Amazing any are still airworthy.
Retrofit the F-14 with forward conards, update the electronics, improve the radar, add ducted exhaust, that would be a monster aircraft.
THAT IS THE JET THAT TOM CRUISE FLEW IN TOP GUN MOVIE!!!!!