The Ultimate Tomcat! Super Tomcat 21 and 22 | Inspired from the
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Let's take a look at the Ultimate Tomcat! Grumman had planned for several variants of the Tomcat after the F-14D, but sadly the Tomcat was retired in 2006. What if those variants were produced? What if the Tomcat evolution had continued? Join me on this thought experiment and see what could have been a Tomcat with 5th Gen Tech.
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#Tomcat #F14 #Aviation #Navy #SuperTomcat f-15 eagle stol/mtd delta dart air defense command f106
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I remember watching Grumman test flying the F-14's at their Calverton, Long Island, facility from the road by the fence. I can't understand why they abandoned the Tomcat, which had super-maneuverability, for the slower & less maneuverable F18 Hornet. Somebody must've gotten paid off.
How would a super hornet look as a stealth fighter?
Ya see this is why the tomcat. Is super bad ass super loved and supermissed
Its perfect. Except for nothing. Even with the added weight to keep the swing wings, i think this aircraft will merge eventually. She would have to be much larger than what im looking at. Like Isosceles Triangle wings over what the animation. Very much the blend of the Aardvark.
Why haven’t you submitted this to grumen or Lockheed
That 5th gen Tomcat is quite literally the stuff of my dreams. I want her so badly.
Add it to Arma 3!
5th Gen? Taking a 3.5 Gen and adding in salt doesn’t make it 5th Gen.
@@Optimaloptimus no, but adding several million dollars worth of tech does.
You acould still possibly get a new tomcat if the navy gets what it wants.
The stealthcat is a 6th gen design and a direct evolution of the tomcat.
The navy has been begging for clearance to get the program rolling for several years now, but they keep getting denied due to the cost of the project.
@@jakehildebrand1824 That doesn’t make it 5th Gen either as the airframe is not up to standard.
I’ll tell you right now, if these cats had made it into service, the navy would have a lot easier time finding new pilot recruits
Well, it's not like the USN are ever short for hotshot recruits.
That said, AST-21 would've definitely been what Super Hornet was to the Hornet.
@@TheRibbonRed Bigger and heavier?
Seems more like what the F15EX is to the F15E
@@appa609 F-15EX is barely any bigger than F-15E though. Most of it are internal changes like adding on EPAWSS & two new weapon stations.
F-15C to E might be more apt, but that also changes its mission. So yeah, Legacy Hornet to Super Hornet. Same mission, more capabilities.
Add lot harder for mechanics who maintain those planes 🤣
Rest in peace F-14 TomCat. You will never be forgotten.
Add it to Arma 3
It will return
The mighty F-14👍 is still operational in Iran
Iran's still got around 40
@@kennyfox7055 it will not
The RIO being able to control drones and their networking would be a game changer.
We'll probably see that with the F/A-XX.
:will be:
@chillwill5080 I think the RIOs task management of AI drones would be to ensure Correct target acquisitioning and input initial way-points, both egress and ingress and further more could At-The-Least assist ea drone in the section in mid-air refueling in the event of system disablement due to typical malfunction or weapons dmg. Beyond that the RIO could assist in guiding to TACAN approaches where a drone (tasked to trap) may try to land A. Broadside or worse B. Reverse of the correct landing pattern as drone ai is blind. Look up Elons ai decapitated ai piloted driver for that synopsis...long story short ai didn't "see" the trucks trailer due to the low profile of the ai vehicle and never activated the brakes...ppl give ai too much and yet not enough respect. Humans control the blend if ai is smart or subpar. Cheers!!
I wish we could of lived in this timeline. The F-14 is just a great plane.
Yes it was awsome bro
This timeline does exist. We just cant experience it. Kinda sucks but its kind of cool to know...
*could've
There's a timeline out there where this was the star plane in Top Gun: Maverick. Just goes to show you why we live in the worst timeline.
And with the xm8 and xm29 oicw
I was disappointed when the USN retired the F-14 Tomcat’s. They were such a sleek and elegant aircraft. I recall standing on the flight deck of my ship watching F-14’s take off from Cubi Point NAS in the Philippines. One came towards my ship before vectoring nearly straight up and disappearing in sky above. It was impressive to watch!
I got to play with F-8 Crusaders Ejection seats, & cockpit operations for oxygen, pressurization, conditioning, canopy, & windscreens.
When the F-14 showed up at NAS MIRAMAR, I put in for a transfer to the new squadron, thinking ultimately, I'm on my way for a possible ride! The chance was denied, they were already set up.
Imagine... Working on the F-14's seats, & pilots safety operations.
Don't get me wrong, the F-8 was by no means an aircraft not to proudly represent... Just a single seater, no chance for a ride ..... Even if your seat worked and saved their arse !
God Bless the Men & Women that SUPPORT & FLY... the BEASTS!
Logistics chains and maintenance are a bitch.
We didn't even leave any flyable F-14s in a museum. We just scrapped em so Iran couldn't get parts, only for them to reverse engineer most of the plane.
@@Krystalmyth don’t we still have schematics for it though? If so you could still manufacture them provided you had the right equipment and parts, no?
And in my opinion it was complete bullshit decommissioning this aircraft I’m pretty sure it got hit with the same thing the SR-71 did, budget cuts… (Idiot Senators and Congressmen at the time: Oh well since we don’t have a big enemy like the Soviet Union anymore we don’t need any of these even though it seems China is getting more powerful and Russia could possibly revert back to a dictatorship but whatever leets decommission it anyway!) (That’s my opinion and mine alone but I’m somewhat right am I not?) P.S. if you’d like to criticize, feel free too! Fire away! Constructive criticism is always helpful!
Build them all. The tomcat is still one of the best looking planes ever made.
You're right on. It's a beautiful, deadly plane
Beauty is great, but it's not what makes a plane a good. Nostalgia and beauty shouldn't be permitted to interfere with relevant considerations when designing tomorrow's killing machines.
My personal opinion is that beauty, being in the eye of the beholder, is something that is *earned*. An aircraft for war shouldn't be designed to be beautiful; rather, it earns beauty in the eye of the beholder as it proves its utility.
@@warpedweirdo the A-10 is a perfect example of what you just said.
@@Friendlygiant666 Exactly the example in my mind as I composed my post.
The modern Avionics and aerodynamics have made the swing-wing obsolete
The weight required for the wing pivot can be better used for more fuel and weapons
Only change to ST22 would need to add a more prominent LERX that spanned the full distance from wing root to air intake. Like a mini-E/F F18. Superb place to store fuel. Would also angle the vertical stabs out another 5 degrees and make them all-moving. That way they could also be used to assist the tailerons as control surfaces with large active area (like in F22 and F18E/F). Lastly, I would add fluidic thrust vectoring. I'm sure with full fly by wire, this could be a crazy good high-AOA platform.... maybe better than the SuperHornet.
Maybe even add some subtle anhedral to the tailerons for more clearance during maneuvering. Not as far as F16, but would encourage relaxed stability and prevent them from being blanked by the wings at high AOA
@Jack Sujovolsky Possibly. But I'm sure it's gotten smaller and lighter in the nearly 60 years between the original design and now. Especially if we're talking Carbon Composite construction of those surfaces. Seems like a solvable problem.
I would recommend against TV as it's largely demonstrated to be overrated cost wise when you apply advanced aerodynamic design to the airframe. Using structures like the LERX appropriately will allow vortex generation to be guided directly to the need control surfaces.
The F-35 basically demonstrated why Thrust Vectoring is rather pointless for 'enhanced maneuverability'.
The real reason to seek out TV is for 6th generation considerations where speed and stealth, which are diametrically opposed requirements; are in consideration. This is because full range TV can be made to provide full yaw control as well as pitch, thus remove the need for stabilizers altogether to reduce drag and reduce RCS.
The Tomcat show surprisingly lacks chines being added to the nose. The cylinder shape of the nose will cause significant returns if chines are not added. The chines are also for lift generation, a need if you intend to add far more fuel load and increase the MTOW.
The 'side arm' weapon bays are not possible due to the MLG configuration on the OG Tomcat, at least not without some severe redesigning of the engine nacelles.
You're looking st making a whole new fighter that honors the tomcat, rather than Upgrading.
There was a Tomcat styled F-22 offered to the Navy by LM. This is essentially what the video shows. See the NATF, the A-X and A/F-X variants of the F-22B design proposals.
@@Nurhaal fully aware and good points. There are indeed very good arguments against TV, as you noted. The F-35 isa good example but it isn't the first aircraft to show TV being unnecessary. The YF-23 did that. With all moving tail surfaces that were nearly the size of a legacy hornet's wing. Lol.
@@DBravo29er @ScH75 the YF-23 wasn't as maneuverable as the YF-22 at low altitudes due to it's lack of TV and the TV for the F-22 is what makes it's fat ass maneuver as good as an F-15 above 20,000 ft. The Widow was likely faster and for sure was stealthier (I caution the max speed because both had classified speeds that are restricted due to friction destroying the RAM. That's the issue with asking for both speed and stealth and why they're diametrically opposed) but the '23 did not have the maneuverability the '22 did. The placement of it's lift generators were not as effective as they are on the F-35. The F-35 is capable of post stall maneuverability without TV, even with such poor 'wing loading' metrics (much to the chagrin of Pierre Sprey). Having large surface areas for deflection is pointless if you cannot direct airmass to that area to deflect at high AoA. Furthermore, directing that airmass in a controlled form increases the potential mass to deflect, hence why it's important to have those vortex generators in the right places in coordination with your control surfaces.
However you have that... constant... struggle of aerodynamicist vs materials engineer that makes it so hard. The more aero-structures you add to increase the kinematics, the materials engineer who's responsible for the RAM gets mad at you lol
ignoring some slight airframe issues from the ST21 to the "22" you made, it's a great idea in my rocket science opinion. The idea of a backseat co-pilot being able to control a dedicated drone wingman is actually exceptionally interesting...
Having a free pair of hands up there in such a plane also might have AWACS potential. Consider a pair of them as part of a specialised aerial recce team which can fight and/or run.
but if the two were to be involved in a dogfight, the co-pilot would have to fly the drone while undergoing the G-force of the jet he is in... that would be a bit of a problem situation, or maybe I just misunderstood.
@@justamantiswithgoodtaste8166 I mean, any pilot is going to be screwed as far as trying to pilot a drone while engaging in BFM. A RIO would certainly perform worse under G load, but no way is a pilot going to dogfight while even _thinking_ about controlling a drone.
@@mage3690 Exactly mate, that's what I was saying, that's why I thought I misunderstood, it seems quite counterproductive, there's also the fact that I don't speak English as a first language, and maybe that doesn't help.
It is really cool :) I don't know anything about designing airframes, what would you change Chris Kamen? I heard that having the vertical stabs slightly forward of the horizontal stabs improves stealth because of right angles or something, is this true? I'm probably just spouting nonsense though 😅
I was an Avionics Tech. On the F106 Delta Dart during the 60's and 70's - quite an aircraft. I do feel compelled to point out that your film of the "F106" is in fact an F102 Delta Dagger. The intake location and the pointed wing tips and vertical stabilizer are a dead giveaway.
7:23 perhaps it's a viable option for project wingman. Your fantasy version of a further development on the ST-21 is litterly PERFECT for Project Wingman
By Project Wingman do you mean the game or the Loyal Wingman drone project by the Air Force?
@@deadlybladesmith3093 the game of course.
@@effisjens1776 OK, just making sure. I absolutely loved that game. Everything about it was great. I still have some of the music on my playlists. Presidia is probably my favorite.
Hell, maybe even A DLC Jet in Ace Combat 7.
Hoping for planes DLC considering it just came out on Xbox
that final image is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. i was absolutely giddy
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Given the interest in this video I will definitely make a follow up one. Cheers!
One thing that has to be included into the discussion about advanced Tomcat variants is the (cancelled) successor to the F-14's signature weapon (AIM-54 Phoenix), the AAAM (Advanced Air-to-Air Missile) or the AIM-152. This topic alone would make an interesting video.
Back in late 80's two teams, Hughes & Raytheon and General Dynamics & Westinhouse were selected to produce rival designs for a missile that would surpass the AIM-54C's capabilities. Hughes proposed a hybrid ramjet/rocket powered missile that was like the MBDA Meteor on steroids, but also featured a pair of small wings instead of a cruciform configuration so the missile would "fly" through turns with minimal drag. Some of the technology had already been evaluated during the Advanced Common Intercept Missile Demonstration. Given that the Meteor is considered the best AAM in the world today makes one wonder how impressive this missile would have become. (Keep in mind that the Meteors size was more constrained as it had to fit in AMRAAM stations)
GD/W came up with an equally radical design, a smaller tube-launched missile with a jettisonable rocket booster. Both the booster and the main stage had thrust vectoring and the missile would use SARH with a back-up EO seeker. This necessitated an external targeting pod that had radar antennas both forward and aft, making it possible for the F-14 to guide the semi-active missiles even when not facing targets. Although inferior in maximum range to the H/R proposal, it was much more maneuverable during powered flight and an F-14 could carry 12 (!) of these launch tubes between its engine pods and addtional 3 on a wing station, as opposed to 6 - 8.
A dual-thrust rocket engine / jettisonable booster is probably used in the upcoming AIM-260 that once again faces strict size constrains due to the fact that it has to fit inside F-35's weapons bays.
After the F-14 was destined for early retirement, the AAAM project was cancelled; the Tomcat was the only (Navy) platform that could utilize this weapon to its fullest extent.
Flight International had a great article on the AIM-152 that I found online (After the Phoenix falls, 22 April 1989 issue), not sure if it can be still found in their archive.
It’s an interesting conversation, I enjoyed reading it, I believe it’s all going in the wrong direction. Unmanned is the future, and that means zero combat pilots on board aircraft. Once you select that option, the whole thing becomes cost-effective and deadly. It is silly to relive World War II In the year 2022.
Now this is an excellent addition. Especially when such a missile system could have been folded into AST-22 internal weapon bays.
Saw your comment pertaining to the Pheonix missle. In the later half of the 90s I had bought a PC flight simulator. Janes F14 and started flying thru all the missions. Well anyways, there was an expansion pack(CD) and I bought it. Well this expansion included the use of the Phoenix missle, and an expanded flying territory, and all sorts of stuff. Something that stood out was the operating range I could fire it. It said 80 nautical miles I believe. I don't know if that's true but the sim was from Jane's. 80 miles is pretty far to target from a jet.
The Phoenix was great on paper and looked menacing up close, but it's in-theater performance was just so-so.
I've always love the F14 air frame. This upgrade version looks great.
I really like the idea of the second seat RIO commanding it’s own separate drone fleet. I’ve heard that’s the immediate future for force multiplier.
The level of thought and research that went into this presentation is easily one of the best I have ever seen, it is superb. I remember back in the day waiting each month for the new magazines to come out, just to catch the news on the decision about the Tomcat's probable upgrade. Aviation Week and Space Technology, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were the easy ones to find. Info traveled so much slower before the net. Excellent, high quality work! Cheers.
Thank you Ben! I grew up reading Popular Science and Popular Mechanics, my dad had a subscription in the 80s. Your comment is very much appreciated!
@@PilotPhotog So I bet you watched Wings of the Red Star and Wings of the Luftwaffe also? How was your trip to the USAF Museum in Dayton? Favorite two planes, if you went. I couldn't pick just one.
@@benwelch4076 I did watch both of those! I still haven't been to USAF museum in Dayton...its a trip I am very looking forward to!
Well said!
Also had Jane's Weekly and Scientific American which had frequent articles on aerospace. (Jane's All the World's Aircraft was practically my bible)
The Stealth/TVC Tomcat should have been built. It should have. The jet was conceived as having a 2 person crew, and the forward thinking concept of a drone controlling RIO is awesome. If they 'd built this Tomcat, the USN would've had a supersonic, supercruising, stealthy, supermaneuverable, AESA sporting, loyal wingman drone equipped jet fighter _already in service._
Let that one sink in.
You mean they‘ll have the same hangar Queen that cost them loads of money to maintain and field but more expensive. Good idea. No.
@@Optimaloptimus
I don't think the '5gen Tomcat' would have been anywhere near the Hangar Queen that the F-14 A & B were. The technology exists now to make the swing wing much less susceptible to mechanical failure, plus engine technology is waaaay better now.
From the little bit that I know of stealth I conclude that swing wing and stealth do not mix. This utopian F14 design is a solution in search of a problem. Thankfully military procurement is generally based on a set of requirements and not on how well a defense contractor can hot rod an old design.
@@ericb.4914 Right you are.
@@skyhorseprice6591 You mean to tell me somewhere in that design they actually bothered to design a new mechanism for the wing and cause it’s price to skyrocket even more? Genius! Also it’s not 5th Gen. it’s a 3rd Gen and a half cosplaying as 5th Gen.
I am amazed with this video. I love the models you have and the people that made them. I've never seen the Sea Raptor in such a beautiful rendition. The fact that the F-14 could have been pushed into the modern day fold makes me want it back in the skies that much more. Thank you for making this video and bringing the Sea Raptor into the spotlight.
Thank you very much! It was a lot of fun rendering these scenes and I will find a way to make more videos of the Sea Raptor on this channel.
@@PilotPhotog Thank you very much!
The F-14 also inspired an entire series of anime/toys that persist in anime culture today - the venerable VF-1A/J/S
The f-14 is amazing.
7:24 an optional Fulcrum style hunchback CFT would extend the operational time even further at the cost of RCS.
Of course, this is also inspired by the Super Hornet Block III that's doing similar stuff for a decent increase in operational time.
You have got to come up with hypothetical combat scenarios for the ST 22 in a war against Iran or China. Kinda like the stuff you would find in the History Channel Show “Dogfights” but with Tog as the narrator. It can be called “Togfights”.
That'd be interesting. Wish we can get something like that
That could be interesting..
Scarlet Magnum thank you and I'm going to see what I can put together.
@@PilotPhotog yes! looking foward to that
The war with Iran means the end of a superpower called the United States
Pretty cool. The only thing I think you missed is a redesign of the nozzles. As you have them they light up the ir sensors, and a lot of the opposition like long range ir weapons and detection. Fix that and you have a winner.
Consequently, the heat put out by the Russian stealth fighter is a big part of why pilots aren't so worried about it. It's like being in a dark room invisible to everyone except they know where you are because you're holding a torch.
Thanks a lot for doing this..! It was a visual treat..I really can't express my joy as a tomcat fan....!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting!
We all fell in love with the Tomcat!♥😻♥
She'll never be forgotten. 😼
She never will be🤗@@niko7903
I cannot describe how much I want this plane to be a reality, the Tomcat deserves to live on!!
The Tomcat is one of my favorite planes and I have known two pilots who flew them. Just magnificent aircraft, however, their fatal flaw, the one thing which doomed this fantastic plane was maintenance. The F-14 required more hours of maintenance vs. flight hours than any other aircraft in the navy and they were expensive to repair. On top of that the F-14 was like a modern P-47 Thunderbolt, a seriously massive plane for a fighter.
I have been reading up on the Super Tomcat 21 since seeing articles in magazines since 1992. Grumman did address the maintenance and reliability as part of the Super Tomcat 21 design. It would not have lowered it to the same level as the F/A-18, but it would have been a huge improvement.
This is interesting as I have heard from a few pilots that as long as you flew them routinely they never broke down, in the same way a diesel truck requires routine use.
actually, the EA-6 required more. Also, a lot of people use the A in comparisons as opposed to the D. During the years when it was getting full support, it required 17 mmh/fh and that was trending down.
@@tararaboomdiay7442 Sorry, but that is nonsense and confirmed nonsense by two pilots, one of which is on UA-cam. The F-14D had serious maintenance hours on average, the engines could explode if you were unskilled on the aircraft, and they were almost impossible to pull out of a flat spin. The F-18 is a better aircraft because per pilots who flew both aircraft, the 18 you can get right in and fly, very little prep, very little maint. vs. flight time compared to the Tomcat. Also, the Tomcat was never designed to be an attack platform so when the 14 was running anything but clean, it's performance was seriously hampered. As a fighter / interceptor the 14 was the best plane the Navy ever fielded, but it was a middling strike aircraft which was very expensive to maintain and required the very best pilots to fly them successfully. IMO though every carrier should have a single CAP squadron of 14's for interceptor role exclusively running clean.
@@chrisweber3379 No it wouldn't have because they wouldn't have changed the airframe. The primary reason why it was such a hangar queen was because of the complex airframe, and adding more technologies on top of that would've arguably made maintenance a lot worse.
Great job on that! Tomcats were hanging on my walls when I was a teen. Grew up on Long Island NY and got to see them in action. Great memories. Watched the last one take off from calverton. A stealth F-14 is cool to imagine
Thank you and while I did see Tomcats at airshows in the 80s and 90s I can imagine what it must have been like seeing them fly out of Claverton. Glad you enjoyed the video and cheers!
What a formidable platform this could’ve been ❤️👍
As a child my dad was station at NAS Miramar. We had a picture of us by the hangar that had “Fightertown USA” and F14s parked around it. Definitely a icon amongst jet fighters.
Sadly, this is just gonna stay in our dream forever, but what a beautiful yet formidable fighter if this would be exist... love the Tomcat
AN/AAQ-37 DAS (Distributed Aperture System) would complement the thrust vectoring and stealth features you already have included. Aircraft & ground target tracking, missile cueing, and incoming missile tracking, plus increased situational awareness and crew comfort (replaces worn NVG's with a HMD) all lead to increased survivability.
The problem i see is The US has played with Thrust vectoring for a LONG time and yet only one official American aircraft uses it the question of why that is the case should be asked. Just adding it to Tick a checkbox may not be as useful as you may expect and may in fact harm some other aspect of an aircraft's performance.
@@silverphinex The US found out through various projects and observing foreign designs that thrust vectoring is expensive both in terms of design and manufacturing and of limited usefulness in most engagements. The fact that it is also difficult to do while retaining low observable characteristics pretty much precludes any US 5th gen from having anything more than the F-22's 2d thrust vectoring. A 4++ design like PilotPhotog's Super Tomcat 22 here might find it beneficial.
@@Orphican i find your answer funny in two ways one the Vectoring thrust is both Expensive and mechanically complex. And everyone's whine about the original 14 is that the swing wing made the aircraft Mechanically complex and expensive to maintain. I mean i still like the concept dont get me wrong.
If you want a wonder do it all plane i think its better for it to be larger so that later you have more physical space for upgrades. That in my opinion was the largest drawback of the F/A-18 was its relatively small size until they went to the 18E. Tho from my understanding the lions share of issues the 14 had where Electrical not mechanical in nature from what i understood the 14 was pretty reliable mechanically.
@@militavia-air-defense-aircraft you can do things to reduce the Radar signature of any airframe it just massively lowers the tolerances you have to build to the B1 lancer while not a Stealth bomber like the B2 does have a Reduced RCS due to the geometry of the aircraft
It brings a tear to my eye knowing that the "22" concept will never be made.... :'( But what a capable aircraft it would be!!!
Indeed and thank you for commenting
What an expensive aircraft it would have been. You're talking something that would cost more than an F-35 to produce xD
@@dragonbutt and less aircraft per carrier due to how big it is. Hornets and 35s are better-more aircraft=more sorties=more flexibility
The final design looks sick, a thing to mention is that probably the engines would be way closer, or even maybe just one single engine, as the separation the engines had in the tomcat where part of the reason it usually flatspined, nowadays every twin engined plane has both engines together!
Tell that to the Russians. They *love* their Sukhoi wide engine split shenanigans.
Having the engines separated would allow a larger weapons bay and allow offsetting of intakes inwards to mask fan fins.
@@ivorbrae Oh, i absolutely forgot about the weapons bay (ironic being one of the most powerful stealth technics), but i have to ask, wouldn't it be similar to the raptor that has both engines super close to one another?
@@DraX_x I'm definitely no expert, but I do believe the Raptor has a reasonably limited stealth config payload. The old Tomcat used to house 4 massive AIM-54 tucked between the engines. There might have been the opportunity to house a lot of modern AMRAAMs or MK80s internally.
Just imagine Maverick flying one of these in Top Gun Mavrick against the Su-57s
Your videos have never ceased to amaze me. What great details! Love the ST22 - you should share that with Northrop Grumman - maybe they'll build it for the Navy. They really need it.
The only change I would most likely make is to use the F-22 Raptor's P&W F135 engines that put out 35,000 lbs of thrust or a General Electric that's equivalent to it: I believe the closest being the GE F110-132 which puts out 32,000 lbs of thrust used in late model export F-16's, . From your concept, it's safe to say that the ST22 houses an internal gun on the right side.
Other than that, your concept is absolutely beautiful. Thanks again.
The P&W F135 engines are actually the F-35's engines and are 42k pounds of thrust class engines. The F-22's engines are the P&W F119.
And yes, P&W F135 engines on an F-14, any variant really, is not only possible (they are slightly smaller than the GE-F110 in the B/D model F-14's), but would be absolutely RIDICULOUS. The P&W F135 engines produce as much thrust in military power as the GE F110 does in AFTERBURNER, and in Afterburner would give a 75k pound (fully loaded A2G loadout, by the way) Tomcat a thrust to weight ratio in excess of 1:1.
That'd be a super cruising (as in, like Mach 1.6-1.8 range) F-14 with an engine in common with the F-35C already on the carrier. Pretty crazy engine, to be honest.
The F14 Tomcat was a great aircraft!! I followed it from its mock-up all the way to its Navy retirement. Iran is even still flying it!! The Navy is missing a fighter now with a long flight time. The advanced Tomcat could have filled the need.
Iran is even still flying it!!!
And VERY recently Iranian officials said that they have a new program to develop a new heavy air fighter based on the F-14 architecture... SO...
This video may give to the Iranians a good starting point for they next endeavor...
SADLY....
Still could.
The Iranian export version is pale version of the Tomcat the avionics and flight argumentation systems where downgraded and sub-standard to Navy specifications I worked on the undelivered aircraft at Point Mugu pilots hated flying it and Grumman could not get up to Navy Specs with spending millions to do it.
What could’ve been. The navy will always need a long range fighter and attack craft, especially in an era of renewed peer competitors. And it would’ve been great for us Long Islanders
Indeed and thanks for commenting!
Yeah they lost allot of capability when they got rid of the Tomcat, Prowlers and especially the vikings. They need a longer range loitering plane that can push out their protection/early warning bubble that you just don't get in the Super hornet. Also I don't think using the Super hornet as a tanker is not something ANYONE would call efficient.
Perhaps the Navy should expand their operating budget to allow for more types on the carriers so they can get back those capabilities they lost and their not getting back with F-35s. I know they are working on a refueling drone but something like a new version of the Viking is what they really need IMO. A new version of the viking could be a long range antiship/sub, ECW and refuling platform plus a drone controller with a 4 man crew. Somehow using F-35 pilots as drone controllers seems like its going to over burden pilots who should be concerned with flying their planes.
@@loganholmberg2295 You’re definitely on point. These new platforms can carry multiple capabilities with the miniaturization of electronics along with the networking
That was a beautiful rendering of the Tomcat evolutions 😍
Man, if only. I’ve been fascinated with the F-14 for almost 40 years. I live near Barksdale Air Force Base. Home of the B-52s and the Strategic Air Command. When planes started flying into buildings, President Bush was taken to Barksdale, so it’s a major base. I’m sure there’s multiple Nukes, from at least 2 countries, but on the upside we get Airshows every year. I’ve seen the Blue Angels, and the Thunder Birds. They’re the featured performances, but they had f-14s out there from time to time, despite being a navy plane. It’s the kinda bleep, that will really get you fired up. Being able to check them out in the first person was mind blowing as a young fella. Seeing the SR-71 up close and personal was also an amazing experience, but through it all the F-14 remains my favorite jet fighter of all time. The F4 Corsair is my favorite prop fighter/cas attack plane, and deserves to be distinguished separately from the jet fighters. This was an excellent video, and I’m sorry I’m nearly a year late to the party, but thank you for making the vid. The SU-57 in TopGun2 wouldn’t have stood a chance (well maybe a little bit of a chance) against the SuperCat you’ve concocted here. Bravo sir!
Sounds like it still would have been developed from a clean sheet of paper, which is actually good. Legacy Cats were getting to be maintenance nightmares for ground crews. I lived in San Diego, and Cats would occasionally fall out of the air, much to the surprise of the pilots.
The F14 Tomcat still has a special place in my heart. Lol😊
It will always be Tomcat Thursday on this channel - check the community page when you get a chance and thank you for commenting!
Your ST-21 is something out of like Ace Combat or Project Wingman. *I LOVE IT.* Also, I would love for you to do the ATD-X/X-2 Shinshin
That is literally the sickest jet ever. Miss the tomcat so much. Was me and my father's favorite at airshows
I always thought the VF-1 Valkyrie would have been the ultimate Tomcat upgrade, but man your concept would still have given any adversary such as the Zentradi major trouble on any battlefield
Was waiting for someone to make a Macross/Robotech reference! I have to say though, the ST-22 concept as shown here bears more of a resemblance to an Alpha/Shadow fighter than a VF-1 IMO
love the 22 , looks like a very cleaned up Tomcat . Wales UK.
Thanks 👍
Adding Celestial Navigation, Fluidic thrust vectoring, fly-by-light systems, and a cranked arrow wing design would further enhance the ST22's abilities & lower maintenance cost.
F-14/ST22 would have been a straight beast
I never thought the tomcat could be more awesome! Great video. 👍
Thanks! 👍
It's a damn shame Dick Chaney was hellbent on killing the Tomcat, if he didn't the F-14 would have been modernized and still kicking ass
The F14D was already the equivalent of the F15E, and word is that grunts on the ground during OEF much preferredthe the bomb cat over anything else that they had on air.
I remember the F-14 flying over us for air support in OEF. Loved that plane almost as much as the A-10.
Even the F-14A had the ground attack capability of the A-7 Corsair II. I learned that from the "TOMCAsT" podcast.
The B and D models gained the use of the Lantirn targeting pod, they didn't need the optical pod as the F-14 was already equipped with an onboard camera system.
This is still one of my favourite aircraft. Totally rebuilding a new aircraft is insanity. Building on a known and trusted platform is cost effective and less re-orientation for its users. I think the Navy would have saved billions if they have stuck with the Tomcats. Now they are doing this for the Hornets, which in all honesty is never a great replacement for the Tomcats
I said it once and I'll say it again, the tomcat and warthog are the animals of the sky!!! No questions asked.
Awesome!!! Wish it can come back in this form.
I love it. The ST-22 would be a melding of two legendary airframes, and an upgrade to both….provided stealth isn’t compromised.
Stealth definitely wouldn't be amazing with his aircraft but it looks badass
Im way late to watching this video, but i love the modelling you used for the beloved Tomcat, especially the final evolution.. as to your question, my main input to upgrading the Tomcat would at least be FBW controls so even we never got the Advanced Super Tomcat, at least it would be more controllable. Also, maybe increase its structural strength to make it 9G-tolerant rather than just 7.5.. lovely video my man!
Thank you and thanks for commenting...I forgot to mention the FBW and the 20mm gun, both of which would be part of the ST22...and this won't be the last you see of the ST22 on this channel. Cheers!
Like most young boys of the late 70s/ early 80s, i was extremely fascinated by fighter jets. I didn't have the attention span to attend college so i enlisted as aviation Machinist's mate (jet mech) in 1992. In 1994, I was transferred mid westpac to a carrier from a frigate. My first day on board, i went to the hangar to perform rust control on our sh60s. There were rows and rows of f18s packed in and at the front of the hangar were the most beautiful birds i have ever seen, the tomcats. A thing i noticed was that they were HUGE. Just 2 took up the area of 6 folded 18s. Not much rust prevention done that day :)
That stealth Tomcat is badass. I want that white ST-21 for my personal plane.
Lets goo!
I would lose the conventional vertical tails and def have thrust vectoring. Awesome video
Just a note for those mentioning the Super Hornet. The Super Hornet was never meant to replace the Tomcat. The Navy purchased the Super Hornet as a "strike fighter" - a replacement for the A-6 and A-7. The replacement for the Tomcat in fleet defender role was supposed to be a navalized variant of the F-22. The "ultimate final version of the Tomcat" at 4:50 is really just that - a navalized F-22 (except with an additional seat). But that navalized F-22 was never purchased due to costs and the end of the Cold War. One problem I see with the "ultimate final version of the Tomcat" is weight. The F-22 for the USAF ended up being nearly the same weight as the Tomcat and now you want to navalize it, add swing-wings, and a second crewman...
Totally agree with the weight issue you mentioned. A second pilot takes away from gas, which you'll need additional airframe structure to get back. Stealth requirements dictate internal weapons stores, and those increase weight. At the end of the day, landing on a airstrip has minimal considerations for bring back weight. Not so with a naval aircraft.
There was never a naval version of the F-22 planned
I’m sorry that we didn’t get the TomCat upgraded, instead it was sent to Tucson for junk. The F-18 is a good plane but not a great plane like the F-14, was I knew the guys who flew them at Point MUGU , they loved it and it was so nice to see them in the air.
@@jameslittlefield3917 The F/A 18 is miles ahead of the F-14 in service life, maintenance cost, modularity, modern avionics. It's a better plane in just about every way.
@@j4min1 There most certainly was. It was called the Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter 22 (NATF-22) Sea Raptor program. Beginning in 1988. The plan was to create an F-14 style variable-sweep wing version of the F-22 (so that it could fly slowly enough to land on a carrier) for the US Navy. Along with a more robust fuselage and landing gear. So that it could withstand the greater forces of carrier take-offs and landings.
However, the program was cancelled in 1991. As creating a variable-sweep wing version proved to be too complicated, problematic and costly. The US Navy also determined that a naval F-22 would be significantly too expensive for them to operate and maintain. And that beyond its stealth, supercruise and thrust vectoring capabilities. It offered little improvement upon their existing capability with the F-14. As the F-14s had a faster top speed (a crucial factor in carrier defence) and were massively cheaper to operate and maintain.
It was ultimately proven that the US Navy made the right decision. Their assessment regarding the F-22s significantly high operating and maintenance costs was 100% correct. As the F-22 is the most expensive fighter in the world to operate and maintain. Hence why the USAF now only has less than 100 which are operational.
Great video. I get to spend time with a F-14D ST every day. She was aboard the Eisenhower, part of VF-31 the Tomcatters.
For years, your ST22 imagary is EXACTLY what I dreamed the Tomcat could and should have been. Thanks!
The ST22 would've been the ultimate Tomcat, and a gorgeous fighter at that!
However, some folks in the navy had gotten a bug (or a hornet) up their butt, and wanted a single airframe to do everything. They would also never come up with the funding for a Tomcat replacement.
Wasn't the Navy, the Navy loved the Tomcat and wanted to build off of its airframe like what has been done with the superhornet. Dick Chaney had some sort of stock or money in having the Hornet in production instead of the Tomcat. Politics and money always win
f-14 was expensive as hell, was basically like the f-22 of the time ($38 million in the 70s, which is over $200 million nowadays). Imagine if the main naval aircraft was the f-22 and you'll get an idea of why they wanted to go for a cheaper option
@@jrolla1858 Boeing lobbying, to this day, continues to make the decisions too. Even in the trials for example, the Grumman YF-23 solidly beat the YF-22, but still wasn’t awarded a contract. The Super Hornet still can’t accomplish anywhere near the job of air supremacy the old Tomcat’s could. It’s all about whose hand gets greased the most.
@@jrolla1858 They could have upgraded the F-14 Tomcat if they really wanted to! I know it was high maintenance, but they could have redesigned it to where it's not high maintenance like they did the F-18 Super Hornet! I know the military could afford it if they could build the F-22 and F-35 from scratch and send billions of dollars to Ukraine! I'm surprised a foreign country did not reverse-engineer the F-14 and created a more advanced version!
Navy fought tooth and nail for the Tomcat. They had representatives making rounds of the Pentagon with Grumman to show presentations. It was Bush administration (Dick Cheney in particular) who was in the pocket of the Hornet mafia. From someone who was involved in the Navy group going to Pentagon, Cheney would not even listen to what Grumman was proposing and how much superior Tomcat was to the concept Super Hornet at the time. Dick Cheney drove Grumman into bankruptcy by preventing new contracts for Grumman drying up all of their business. They ended up spending $5 billion in the Super Hornet development and ended up with something that ended up being a master of none where the F-14D proved to be superior in many ways to the Super Hornet (when F-14D development cost a fraction of that), let alone the ST-21.
As awesome as it would have been, it wouldn't have worked even in Wonderland.
One of the main reasons the Tomcat was removed was because it was way too expensive. And now you are proposing even more expensive stuff like stealth and thrust vectoring. I doubt it would have ever worked
It was also already a mantainance nightmare. So imagine making it even more of a nightmare.
@@dragonbutt
Ikr ??
I would love to see the ST 22 to have those thrust vectoring engines from the F 22, i wouldnt know if it would make the plane stealthier or not it would just look cooler
This is interesting 5th generation super tomcat look like this, i would totally agreed. kind a cool honestly
If the Super Tomcat was a thing it would probably make the J-20 Might Dragon look like the J-20 Little Lizard.
It looks great. I think the stabilizer need to be more angled to be more stealth
Fair point and thanks for commenting!
Although the sweep wing is one of the most characteristic things of the tomcat, I think I'd replace it with a delta wing because it works at high and low speeds and make it a lot lighter. One of my favourite vids!
I'd use a cranked arrow wing, with active aeroelastic wing technologies & Hemp based bio composites for a stronger, lightweight construction.
@@tankieflanker4119 agree with u
@@tankieflanker4119 and what parts of the aircraft are you suggesting to make out of these Bio Composites the primary structure or replacing the aluminum skins with it
@@silverphinex The skeletal structure would be Titanium, while the skin of the aircraft would be bio-composites.
@@tankieflanker4119 a better reply than I expected the stabilators where boron epoxy and where tested to four times the forces they expected them to encounter and where still unable to break them
Honestly a beautiful rendition of the Tomcat.
I love this video.👏👍
I would add anti missile laser pods. I also think we should call it the F-41 Tomcat II.
They should have went through the super tomcat because it would definitely be the best way to go I would have cut down a lot more cost because they already had in place they should finish their plans for the Tomcat because it was one of the best things out there for the u.s. Navy however making it where they can actually use drones from the Tomcat would have been the best thing because they would have had over flight on top of using the drones to do the primary Scouts
What would I change? Easy, replace the engines on the "AST-22" with the P&W F135 engines from the F-35. These engines, combined, would produce 84k pounds of thrust and are no bigger than the GE-F110 engines already in the aircraft. The additional thrust would allow for extremely high super cruise and fuel efficiencies while sharing parts commonality with the F-35A and F-35C. The F-14D weighed in at about 76k at max load... so, greater than 1:1 TWR while fully loaded could be achieved... it'd make an F-15 envious of the TWR. I'd take the sensor suite out of an F-35 as well down to the radar controller. Only change would be the larger AESA array. Again, for as much commonality as possible.
The last major change I would make is move the rudders and vertical stabs forward to reduce the propensity for rudder stall during "flat" spins. Kind of like the Hornet's have. I think you could also fit way more than four AIM-120's in an internal bay of an F-14. They'll stack three wide in the current tunnel as is, never mind if you had the entire depth of the aircraft to work with.
Excellent suggestions and thanks for commenting!
Well, the F-135 would require extensive modification of airframe. Originally the F-119 or 120 were purposed.
The AST 22 would more likely share parts bin with F-22 doe to time consideration.
@@JMiskovsky the F135 is effectively the same size as the TF30 and GE F110 already in the F14. It actually sits just between the two in diameter and length while being significantly lighter.
Besides, the AST22 would never have been current F14 airframes. It'd been a new build from the ground up.
@@Whiskey11Gaming OK. I tougjt that diameter was much larger. Beside new build the Issue is also with time.
Most of us agree that tomcats were not just the most beautiful but also very capable and proven aircraft. Modernization proposals were interesting and your 21st-century concepts were creative, they remained me on solutions Chinese and soviets went with, ie. heavy modernization of earlier-generation fighters. I think that at some point we need to recognize that legacy of airframe designed in the 1960-is would be just a drag for ultra modernization attempts. It's like with the house. Sometimes it's cheaper to build new than try to save and modernize the old.
Looks like a great combat unit, small fast and well armed for bot air to air or ground support.....
The Tomcat was and still is perhaps the best fighter ever.
Possibilities equal stunning. The alignment of sweepable wing with empennage horizontal plane appears amazing in your presentation along with much info re mission and armament.
Thank You.
This is dope as hell. I really feel that they failed the Tomcat in a major way, the F-22 is WAAAAAY to expensive, and the F-35 is alright. The fact that you gave the RIO more to do, including piloting drones, that is awesome. I would make a single seat variant, but I like what you've done.
I thought this was a nice design, but the body needs work implementing the designs now Lockheed's trying with the "no eardrum-battering sonic boom" for the X-59. I thought with twin engine as well would have significant or an excellent performance for a VTOL craft. And if the possibility of super maneuverability were to be placed for the exhaust portion along with the internal weapons bays, why not have a design where flap functions are at the mid body (or even in the engine inlets) so you'd have placement for an internal missile bay for the wings or the leading edge extensions. I've been seeing these drones using fan-less blades, can't they make that super sonic worthy? Also the microgun needs to be doubled like the F-5s, front and center.
There’s just something about the Tomcat that we all love.
The curves?
The way it’s wings move back and forward?
Maybe even the roar if the engines?
Nah.
It’s cause you can fly it with a friend.
I loved working on all three variants of the Tomcat with due respect for how much of a pain in the butt it was at times. I wish the art concept design you had on here would have come to fruition. The Tomcat is and always will be tge best machine the Navy ever had.
Swing wing wont work, the proposal is essentially a new design anyway...
making just a ground up 5th gen or 6th gen is a better option
Looks so promising....and super manuverble....and super all
All the best from Cr🌞atia
👍🍀
Thank you so much 😊 greetings from Texas, USA
@@PilotPhotog 👍😊
We NEED this airplane NOW . It will do things the f 18 won’t do and it is so much FASTER. Covering it with composit material along with radar absorbing coating , this would be an awesome airplane
Your videos are amazing! Awesome script, great narration, excellent visuals, and the research is on point! Well done sir! You'll be up to a million subs in no time I'm sure!
Thank you very much and thanks for being a subscriber!
Enjoyed this interesting "thought experiment".
Carry on.
Thank you and thanks for being a subscriber!
Sure would beat the heck out of the F-35 Moneypit
That was an interesting back thought to its potential. It would have been cheaper if we needed a stop gap in viable planes by extending the program with upgrades while producing the new 4th gen. I like the option of the copilot role with drones, bringing a larger, inexpensive role of air support and nearly pushing into 5th gen market.
The back seater acting as awacs/drone wingman is genius
I’ve been a big fan of the F14 Tomcat from I was a kid, I’d spend hours drawing ✍️ futuristic version of the F14 with not two but three different wing positioning.
I’m a strong believer if it isn’t broke don’t bother fixing it, the narrator is absolutely right if they’d overhauled the F14 adding all of today’s technology packages… Both Russia and China would be quaking in their boots, now I’m going back from what I remember about the F14 armaments the Phoenix missile system. For you enthusiast go look it up because that missile was the ace in the hole 🕳 and if my memory serves me well no other nation had that type of armament.
Like the hit song 🎶 Bring it back, Bring it back, Bring it back, Bring it back again…
I always loved this plane since I was a teenager in the 80s
This would be an amazing evolution of the TomCat
Love what you did there for this advanced tomcat ❤❤❤❤ it would have been glorious
Wow... beautiful before and after!!!
Love it! Would be effective today and in the future. & DCS should make it!
Really wish we could have this as a mod in DCS. Great video on what could have been.
A Super Tomcat Two Two, USN and USAF Versions, would have made leaps and bounds in Air- Land ( Close Air Support), Air Strike ( 🐕 Fighting), and, Intercept and Interdiction ,in Military and Naval Aviation Combat Operations. 🇺🇸🦅🗽💣💥✈️
I'd love to see this variation of the Tomcat come into an aerial combat game sometime!
I like the idea of retired aircraft being revived like this
love to see a new f-14 tomcat loved the tomcat when it was in service