The F-14 Tomcat Was a Game Changer
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- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- The Movie Top Gun was about 2 things: Tom Cruise playing volleyball & the F-14 Tomcat, the US Navy’s Long Range Interceptor. The Tomcat and Tom Cruise were so culturally significant, that Navy Reports state enlistments of new naval aviators, rose by 500%. But what was happening in the world that gave rise to this larger than life jet?
The solution would come from Howard Hughes’ Aircraft Company as a radical new long-range missile, the AIM-54 Phoenix. This gargantuan missile was 15” (380mm) in Diameter, 13’ (4m) long, weighed 1000 lbs (450kg) and could fly above 80,000ft at speeds of Mach 5. It was designed as the ultimate air to air missile and could bring down aircraft and missiles alike. There was just one problem; the Phoenix was so big, there wasn’t an aircraft big and fast enough to carry it.
The contract went to Grumman Aerospace, and they took what they learned on the VFX program to arrive at their 303 Design. It met all Navy requirements and the F-14 was born.
The Phoenix missile wouldn’t be complete without equally capable onboard radar. In partnership with the development of the Phoenix, Hughes also developed the AWG-9 radar system for the Tomcat. It could track up to six targets at once, and quickly fire upon foes a hundred miles away.
At the core of the F-14’s Iconic design is the Swing Wings that sweep between 20 and 68 degrees in flight based on airspeed. For low and slow carrier approaches, the wings swing forward, while sweeping back when reaching the F-14’s top speed of Mach 2. In comparison, the F/A-18 and later F-35 both fly around Mach 1.5. Another striking characteristic is the huge area between the wings, lovingly referred to as the tennis court. This big center section allowed for 6 Phoenix missiles, and the mechanisms for swinging wings. It also accounted for around 25% of the aircraft's total lift, leaving less air over the control surfaces, and somewhat hampered roll and maneuverability.
The F-14s first kills would come in 1981 when the US 6th fleet took up position in the Gulf of Sidra. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi made it clear to the US that “to sail into my gulf, is to cross the line of death.”
A sense of deja vu would follow in 1989 when again off the coast of Libya, US F-14s would be met, this time, by newly commissioned MIG 23 Floggers. The F-14s again turned to avoid conflict, while the Libyan Migs turned in to pursue. After a few tense moments, the F-14s met their rules of engagement and again, shot both Migs out of the sky.
Ultimately the F-14’s combat record reads as follows: It shot down 5 aircraft in total. 4 Libyan fighters and a Russian built Iraqi Mi-8 Helicopter. It suffered 0 losses in air to air combat, and 1 loss due to ground fire. The Phoenix Missile would account for none of those kills. In fact, in its entire US Navy history, the vaunted Phoenix was only ever fired a handful of times, mostly ending in rocket motor failures, and zero kills.
But before we dive into those numbers, you might have noticed that we said US F-14s, and well that’s because one other country was flying them too, the Iranians. Now that might sound hard to believe, giving the current political climate, but the Shahs of Iran were friendly to the US and it wasn't until the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 when everything changed.
During the Iran-Iraq war, Iranian F-14s accounted for 130 air to air kills, suffered 4 air to air losses, and 4 ground losses. The most decorated F-14 pilot isn't even American, he's an Iranian Pilot Jalil Zandi with 11 confirmed kills.
But to get a better sense of the US Tomcat, you really have to consider every skirmish avoided, ever conflict that didn’t materialize, and every dogfight that wasn’t to be.
One of the most iconic images of the US Tomcat is playing host and escort to unwanted Soviet Tu-95 Bear Reconnaissance aircraft during the cold war.
Most enemy aircraft were ordered to immediately disengage and run away, just at the mere sight of being painted by the F-14s giant long-range radar. The combination of the F-14 Tomcat and Phoenix Missile was the ultimate deterrent.
So while for the Iranians the F-14 was an ultimate fighter, for the Americans, it allowed them to speak softly, but carry a big stick.
Many retired US Military aircraft are resigned to a life of quiet dignity at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. But most F-14's have been completely destroyed, just so there's no risk of any spare parts falling into Iranian hands.
So what exactly is the legacy of the F-14 Tomcat? It has already taken its rightful place as one of the coolest, most capable fighter jets ever to grace the skies, and marked a technological milestone in Air Superiority fighters. It made fighter jets mainstream and has undoubtedly inspired a generation.
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Before that make a video on mig21 vs f14.
😋
That was a spot on completely accurate review of the F-14. Thank you!,
F-35: i am cool
F-14: hold my Phoenix
For those who don't know: It's a long time that Iranians domestically build spare parts and overhaul F14s.
They even upgraded F14'S radar software to be connected to Iranians ground Radar Network. They also have build a domestic version of AIM 54 calked "Fakour"
All F14S are operational today.
Can't wait to see this channel blow up
Means a lot coming from the best Aviation Channel on UA-cam!
You guys have very similar styles! Loving it! Definitely looking forward to a collaboration where you guys cover the greatest air conflict or something of that scale! Keep up the great work!
Great video, top gun is the reason I joined the Navy and worked on the Tomcat.......and played a bunch of volley ball.
LOL!
Did you flex your sweaty muscles at each other in the bathroom too? :D
Do jelous wishbi could of been of enlistment age when the tomcat was still flying around id brag so fucking much and never shut up to my grand kids about it
The chief complaint I hear is that he needed a tremendous amount maintenance time for every hour spent in the air was that your experience?
Top gun sucked. The only good thing about it was the first 5 mins of people on the deck. We kicked ass.
I saw Top Gun, went and enlisted in the USN, and four months later was on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. I arrived as ships company just after she was commissioned in 1986. I was an Aviation Ordanceman and I worked in the forward missile magazines. I have seen many Tomcats intercept a Bear over flying our battle group. Always one directly behind and one behind and slightly above. Don't know why, but that was always the case. I seen this about a dozen time.
SEMPER FI Brother Warrior 75 to 83
@@RobertJones-ux6nc As an Aviation Ordinanceman I was in the Weapons Department, which had five divisions and the Marine detachment on board. They were not only the primary ships security and defense, but they were also in charge of the magazines that contained "special weapons" and explosives like C-4 and their own armory. I became friends with many of them and they accepted me as one of their own, insofar as a non-Marine can be accepted. I ate with them, worked out with them and drank with them. And brother, those dudes could party. And many times I got in over my head and the Leather Necks came to my rescue! lol
i am iranian and since my childhood we have seen lots of footage of f14 in our war with iraq,and my father was soldier in that time and told us lots of memory of this air plain,i,ve get lots of goosbumps during this video😭😭
Hopefully our two countries can be friends again someday, so we can start seeing F-14's flying in air shows again.
I'm surprised that you only have 1.6k subs dude, your content quality easily rivals 100k+ channels.
Thank you for the kind comments! We have a lot of great videos planned.
from the beginning till the end i was getting the pleasure of the quality, I thought this channel should copy this video from some sources just because of number of subscribers, but I was surprised at the end, easily they deserve more than 1M+
DAYUM THOSE ANIMATIONS ARE TOP NOTCH DUDE
dude, crazy solid transitions and graphics, agreeeed
2.6 now
I served in Fighter Squadron VF-143 Pukin' Dogs 1990-1994, and I was an engine mechanic on the F-14B model. During the first Gulf War, one of the main duties for the Tomcat was escorting B-52s to their targets. They certainly did other things, but that was one of the main duties. During the Global War on Terror after the 9/11 attacks, F-14s actually used Phoenix missiles in air to ground attacks against Taliban tanks. I actually retired from the military after 22 years of service. After my first four years of active duty, I served four more years in the Naval Reserve, and 14 more in the Air Force Reserve as an Air Transportation specialist.
Thank you for your service!
Are you sure those were Phoenixes? Mavericks are an air-to-ground missile and have the same control surface layout as the Phoenix, which would probably make them hard to differentiate.
You're very welcome.
Honestly, what I have read stated Phoenix, and the media does have a knack for sensationalizing details to acquire ratings. However, what you say makes sense. The Phoenix was actually designed to take out multiple Soviet bombers and missiles. I mean one missile taking out multiple targets. I know that multiple targets can be tracked, which greatly enhances the destructive capability of the Phoenix. The weapons used against the Taliban tanks may well have been maverick missiles, as Phoenix would be much more destructive. Killing a fly with a sledge hammer.
The Phoenix is certainly not at all capable of engaging ground targets in any sort of fashion.
Even were the missile to actually be capable of getting down to hitting something on the ground, as a proximity fuse, high explosive weapon, it's not really going to do much against anything that has even a shred of armour to its name.
Aircraft are delicate things that are incredibly easy to shoot down with high explosives, hence why proximity fuse weapons are so effective, rather than kinetic kill weapons. The explosive force needed to cause critical damage to say, a bomber, is FACTORS below that needed to cause even a remote amount of damage to a tank.
In short, the AIM-54 Phoenix would do very little to a tank or armoured vehicle, especially considering the fact it literally has no air-to-ground capability.
The limited amount of service by the F-14 in Afghanistan had them dropping JDAMs and Mavericks, of which I believe you might have been a tad confused by considering their similar appearance.
I thank you for giving this plane the respect it's do. I earned my wings in 1982 after graduating from the Naval Academy. I was assigned to VF-111, the Sun Downers and went on to fly this bird for 13 years. It was the most awesome experience of my life. I served with the best people and being in the air with this aircraft, no words can describe. The information on the Iranian Tomcats has been declassified and the tech's from Gruman that were stationed in Iran just before the overthrow did an awesome job making the F-14's there nearly useless. The ACP (armament control panel) was a fire control computer and with the circuit boards damaged, the plane could not rely on any weapon to hit it's target. The Iranian ace pilot recorded his kills with the 20mm gun and no missile hits. So to this day the Tomcat will go down in history as a war stopper (with the soviets) and a flat out joy to be a naval aviator with this aircraft.
It was sad to see the Tomcat go, but given the end of the Cold War and the Navy's push for a unified design found in the F/A-18 as a jack of all trades, it was inevitable. The cost to maintain such a complicated, old aircraft continued to rise to a point where it was not viable to keep them flying. It represents the last of a breed of specialized platforms that did their job that they were designed for really well.
One other thing of note is for a large air frame, it was quite maneuverable and could hold its own against smaller fighters. It was designed using lessons learned from the experience of the F-4 Phantom in Vietnam. It can engage targets as very long ranges as a missile fighter in the way that the Phantom was designed to do. But it can also get in close and engage at short ranges. And its variable geometry wings gives it the ability to maneuver at high and low speeds at high and low altitudes.
It surprises me that the variable wing design didn't make it into some of the later models
I'm a car guy. Always have been as my dad was a race driver. I'm always seeking and reading car news and almost cry when listen to Lamborghini/Ferrari's V12s (or 288 GTO/F40's turbo V8s), Ford/GM/Chrysler's V8s, Audi's 5s and other great engines, and I love to drive. I can actually do it pretty well.
That being said, I confess, there's no car in the world, from any era, race or street, that can drive me mad and give me chills as much as the F14 Tomcat. There's pretty much nothing in the whole world or universe that I love more than this machine. Period.
Car huh?
You almost cry when listening to car engines? Lol
The F-14 will always be the best looking bird that ever flew the skies.
In addition to Top Gun, I'll never forget my sons excitement over "Gi Joe's Skystryker," He was so happy to get that for Christmas. You also forgot to mention JAG.... I'm retired Air Force, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the Tomcat!
It just looks so cool. Those beauties are my dream jets. I mean sure the F-22 and F-35 are sleek and all but the tomcat's F-14 frame and design speak wonders.
Totally. Modern jets all suffer from the same issue that modern cars suffer from. We've figured out all the best design characteristics so they all look the damn same, depending on the class. The Tomcat had PERSONALITY, dammit! No other fighter or interceptor looks so hulking and menacing.
See it in service. We wasted billions on the F-35 a platform that doesn't work. The Hornet was a sub par response.
Sexiest aircraft ever created. Not even any competition. I was definitely one of those kids that watched Top Gun like every day growing up.
Yeah we know what you mean!
This is how I was describing Tomcats before I figured that I'm not the only one: "Sexy"
For me the f22 looked like a space fighter when i first saw it..I was so glad to find out it was U.S. I'm guessing that's how you felt when the f14 first came out.. it definitely is sexy as f..ck
Swat Katz though.
The f 14 back then is like how the f 22 is now. Except its more badass in every way when compared to the f 22.
CORRECTION: at 3:05 the AWG-9 could track 24 targets and direct attacks against any 6.
This is my favorite aircraft of all time Hands down.
hope we did it justice!
Two Bit Aviation you did great the only thing I think you missed was it's ability to shoot all 6 Phenix missiles at 6 different targets at once when they did work well it was a 5 to 6 hit rate, as a pilot in real life I will never get a chance to fly one my self but in the ace combat series I use it all the time, my favorite multiplayer tactic was to speed into the ball of death and use the six Phenixs to knock down other players and speed off to the edge of the map come back around and do it again.
@@ProjectDaVinci I do have a fan request for a airplanes history I think it would be a cool video to go over the Cessna 172 and how it is used all over as a trainer aircraft for Civil Aviation and well one of the most popular aircraft to own.
Great idea, we'll make a note! As for the 6 missile drill, we did originally have it in the script and we cut it. But yes, I believe it was a 4/6 hit rate, some sources state 5/6 but either way, that was game changing to be sure!
Same
Great video! I'm an old Cold Warrior. This and the F 15 were hands down my favorite aircraft. One thing to note. The WSO could track up to 24 aircraft and fire on 6 simultaneously. It was amazing considering we're talk about 1960's-70's technology. Keep up the great content and videos!
i really enjoy the fact that this video was narrated by a live human, not a robot. way to go, channel owner!
One of the best F-14 "incarnations" is Turbo Cat in "SWAT KATS" cartoon :) Great video :)
I LOVED SWAT KATS!!
Have you guys watched Macross/Robotech? They had Tomcats that transformed into robots! Also the story was badass. I didn't even care for Top Gun that much.
“The Enforcers will handle this!”
*proceeds to lose not long after*
Oh the swat kats with their unusual and creative missiles.😌 Such a cool cartoon.
*Turbokat is on fire with no engines*
T-Bone: "Come on baby, you can do it!"
*Turbokat starts up and they're safe*
We need it back !!!!!! There's no better " defender of the fleet " out there !!!
My father worked for Grumman and worked in the Tomcat program. He scheduled an airshow with the F-14's in St. Augustine Florida. Those planes are big, loud and beautiful.
I works on the Tom Cat engine when I was in the Navy. It will always be a special aircraft to me!
I would love to see you do a video on the F-15C. I spent 14 years (96-10) on that air frame as an engine specialist, before she was replaced by the F-22 in 2010. She was such a wonderful aircraft (Though a bit of a tough cookie on the maintenance side).
The F-15C is still in service though, and also probably going to outlive the Raptor too, what with the air force working the airframes so hard.
My dad was on the u.s.s. roosevelt when a russian "fishing vessel" got too close and they launched an f14 and disappeared over the horizon, coming back doing mach and blew out the windows on the russian ship
Haha that’s so cool! Thanks for sharing that! We love hearing these great stories from our viewers
Cool story bro... I mean, I really mean it
I was there too....lol
I love this plane. I could watch videos on the F-14 for hours!
We are getting the F-14 added to Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) hopefully by the end of the year, I hope you get the chance to try it out! Great video, keep up the great work!
Lol said to myself, "I should post about DCS" proceed to scroll down only to find out you already had!! good stuff bud!! #tomcathype
WE ARE??
Do we really Aim 54?
Misread that as "DICKS" not sure why..
Try "the vampire"
They also based the Macross planes (anime) on the old F-14 skull and bone squadron.
correct me if i'm wrong but arent the skulls an insignia of the jolly rogers squadron ?
Yep...the Fighting 84. I spent some time ducking under their planes when they were a part of CVW-8 onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. (The "AJ" on the plane caught my eye first...)
Not the "tennis court", was called the pancake
Yes, but I think that they were originally based on the markings found of the Tomcats of the USS Kennedy.
We all want a new Super F-14 in rhe Navy of the Free World! Thank you
But some day they will get working F 35s, with fewer missles, less range, slower, and less manuverability. And much more for the maintainance guys to enjoy.
I worked at Davis Monthan Airforce Base in Tucson about for a short time as a contractor. I was given a tour of the "Boneyard" where the F-14's were located. It was so impressive - it gave me chills to see them all lined up. But it was also sad to think about how important they were and here they sat to retire. On another note - the home of the A-10 is there. They fly almost daily . A great vantage point is from the bridge on Alvernon & Golf Links. You can watch them take off and land. Most of the runway can be viewed from there.
That's so cool! We really want to visit and take some video for future content. Also A-10 is our next video :) maybe you can provide us some insights!
Tom Cruise and F-14 are the legend of Top Gun.
the tomcat was the last in a line of proud gruman cats, most important among them the F6F hellcat that was the top scorer against the japanese planes in WW2
HELL CAT!
jpteknoman Good comment and memory!
That foldable wings definitely my favourite part of this plane.
hi C...
'
american F-14 is the great plane with sweept wings...
same as B-1 and F-111 are sweept wings, tooo
I remember talking to a Tomcat aviator on the hangar deck of the Theodore Roosevelt one time about the size of the Tomcat. He said, paraphrasing, since it was almost 30 years ago, that the Tomcat had a distinct disadvantage to the MiG of the time...it's size. MiGs could see Tomcats coming long before the other way around. But, he also mentioned that while the MiG could SEE the Tomcat, it couldn't outrun or outmaneuver the Tomcat, giving the 'cat a point in its favor. Yes, he was very proud of his bird.
This channel deserves more recognition, absolutely love it!
Thanks for the kind words! It takes a lot of work to make one of these, but we're just getting started!
Yes it does im glad this person doesn't used the robot voice
Most iconic aircraft of all time
Funny bit of trivia: it actually was capable of flying with an "asymetric wing configuration". (IE. One wing In, one wing out. As the image shows.)
Performance suffered obviously. But it could get you home.
It was tested by disengaging the hydraulics of one wing on the ground.
@Commentor1
theaviationist.com/2014/02/19/us-navy-fighters-folded-wings/
The A-10 could also fly with an engine out AND one wing destroyed.
Also the F15... an Israeli Air Force (I think) F15 landed with one wing missing completely
Wasn't one of these shown to be capable of essentially still flying with both it's wings missing? Or am I confusing that for a different aircraft?
i m surprised you knew that. very few people knew about that. But yes that's, she still can fly it, though if i forgot wether, its because one of the wing's jammed or intentional. and yes the is a case with f15 as well.
the f-14 deserve a sequel as well.. YF-28 TOPCAT lets go!!
The best fighter jet to ever exist
My favourite fighter jet of all time. This thing just oozes sexiness and it looks fast standing still!
What's not to like? I'm honored to have been able to work on them.
I grew up watching Top Gun and have always loved the F-14. Thanks for making a great video with awesome animations, liked and subscribed!
The Iconic F-14 always reminds me of Top Gun and After Burner.
This channel is so underrated
Thank You! These videos take a lot of time, but we sure have fun making them!
You can thank Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi for the Tomcat! He was responsible for all the funding. There is a reason that there is the U.S.S. JOHN C. STENNIS (74) Air Craft Carrier. Also the John C. Stennis Space Center of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. All rockets that have been used for Apollo and Space Shuttle missions were tested @ Stennis Space Center... He was nicknamed "The Father of the Modern Navy" and was a proud Alumnus from Mississippi State University! #HA1LSTATE!
Good to know! There are definitely some hero’s when talking about aviation
You can also thank the F-111 for being far too heavy and just all-around unsuited for carrier service.
Little known fact: Mississippi got the Stennis Space Center because Senator John C Stennis cooperated in the cover up of the assassination of JFK
@@keithjrisk lol shut up, Keith. Take that shit somewhere else.
Want to know who to thank for the demise of the F-14?
Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.
My dad was an ABH in the Navy when the Tomcat was still in service and he said "if that aircraft wasn't leaking some kind of fluid, something wasn't righ"
I worked on the AWG-9 successor when I was Active, cruised 02-03 with VF2 Bounty Hunters. Loved every minute of it.
The quality of your videos are amazing. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! More to come so we hope you’ll subscribe
This is a very good video. I learned a lot of new facts about the F-14 Tomcat.
Tomcats should have never retired.
The F-14 Tomcat means a lot to me since my dad worked on them when he was in the Navy
The F-14 Tomcat was one of the reasons I chose the Navy over the Air Force, and I still tell stories of the times spent working on this aircraft. It was the most beautiful aircraft ever designed, but it was a nightmare for maintenance in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Yeah beautiful and capable but hard to keep up
That's what the Navy actually need, a newer F-14. Something as fast, lots of lift, twin engines, stable, and since the AIM-54 is no longer an option, another improved kick-ass radar. The higher-ups are putting their money on stealth, thinking that will enable our aircraft to get first shots and not get shot at. I don't share their optimism. If the enemy ever improve their detection, we'll have a fleet of useless F-35s, which is a high cost disposable aircraft. One hit and it's done. Only one engine to rely on. I would have preferred a Navy version of the F-22 over the JSF, because at least the F-22 has the acceleration and super cruise to get from point A to point B efficiently, which makes up for it not being as fast as the F-14.And the F-35 is not an interceptor.
But then there are other questions to ask about the F-22. Can the structural integrity stand up to the force of being jerked back once the arrestor hook catches a cable? Each time an aircraft is pulled back by arrestor cables, it causes the aircraft to bend ever so slightly, even if it's not noticed by the naked eye. How much stealth would the F-22 lose from an arrestor hook? Can the F-22 be modified to have fold-able wings for storage? Would exposure to sea water increase the cost of maintenance/corrosion control or it's ability to maintain stealth?
I can post longer, but ain't nobody got time for that!
tuned radars literally can spot stealth aircraft. stealth makes planes seem smaller not invisible.
@blackandgold51 THE US NAVY WAS GOING TO BUY 300 F14D TOMCATS, AND THERE WAS A TOMCAT 2000 IN THE DESIGN PHASE. ALL OF THAT FUNDING WENT TO THE FA18E/F.
Great channel guys! I enjoyed the animations and the pace of the video. Keep it up!
The F-14 is a true beauty of a plane.
Yes it is.
Watching macross as a kid and then going to a library, opening a book about jets and seeing the F-14 tomcat. This blew my mind. My mind is still blown.
Wow I never knew the F-14 and F-111 were related :)
Love the video very informative as the F-14 Tomcat was my favourite fighter plane that ever graced the skies. No doubt Top Gun made the plane famous you forgot to mention the legendary game called ‘Afterburner’ by Sega now superseded by ‘Afterburner Climax’ that game is a great way to introduce people to the magnificent piece of military hardware sadly gone but forgotten.
I still remember getting my own die cast of F-14 Tomcat when i was a kid, what a good time back then
my favorite aspects are remembering them doing fake gun runs on ships i was on in the med. come at our stern just above the waves very fast then snatch that stick back and kick in the afterburners straight up and gone in a second or two. very thrilling to be there.
Amazingly well produced video
subscribed!!! excellent content! thank you so much for producing and sharing!
Thank you for subscription. We have more videos in the chute!
The best thing about the F-14 is its range. It can go much farther without refueling than most fighters.
Probably one of the most impressive things about the versatility of this plane was just how intimidating it could be merely by how confusing it was. It was hulking for a fighter, an already intimidating sight, but deceptively quick and agile.
The f14 is without a doubt one of the best/worst examples of military aviation. It performed it's job very well, yet the cost of operations and the lack of a clear enemy to fight post cold war, both combined to make this warbird retire.
There was a few left in naval inventory when I got out of the USMC. You'd read about them periodically. I think the last squadron to have them was V -23.
It also failed pretty miserably in its intended role. I mean... these Libyan examples could have easily been done by F-4s or even F-8s.
But when it came time to turning on that big huge radar that could track 24 different targets at a time and shoot down up to six of them up to 100 miles away with its AIM-54 Phoenix missiles?
Well... the radar just announced to the entire world that there were F-14s in the area... which is why the FLIR was the most important modification and the E-2C a very important piece of hardware... and when the Phoenixes weren’t failing to launch the Iraqis simply reversed course to avoid them... the ballistic trajectory required to give the Phoenixes their 100 mile range made it impossible for them to follow.
It was smart for the Navy to adapt the F-14 to become a strike aircraft and drop bombs. Putting that LANTIRN system on it kept it alive for a while and it's range made it useful for Afghanistan and Iraq and such. It was a fine aircraft though the F18E Super Hornet and drones and such came to be more cost effective than the F-14.
F-14 was a fighter/interceptor combination. Designed for intercepting anything and everything. Taking the fight to the enemy and taking the threat out whatever it took. My most favorite is intimidation factor and that 95% of the fighters that came up against, simply blew through at the merge deciding not to engage. It flew 576 sorties in "Operation Desert Storm" and not one fighter ever wanted to dog fight the F-14. Captain Dale "Snort" Snodgrass said, he literally chased a MIG-29 out of the air space they were patrolling in the Gulf. F-14s were not allowed to engage BVR because ROE required positive ID of the enemy threat while F-14 systems did not have friend-foe ID.
Of course the F-14 had IFF. It didn't have NCTR, which was a recent advance in radar technology, already incorporated in the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18C. It would have been part of the improvements in the F-14D, equipped with the new APG-71 radar. That is why it was restricted from BVR enagements. ROE required positive ID not just of a bogey's coalition, but also the exact type of aircraft.
Thanks for the clarification.
Braeddie, the F-14D most definitely had NCTR capabilities.
Hence me stating that NCTR would have been part of the F-14D, equipped with the APG-71 radar. The A and B models however, were equipped with the AWG-9 which didn't have NCTR.
Very good graphic. I really enjoyed it. I had a model of F 14 when I was a kid. And growing up in Iran, I saw many F 14 flying the sky of Tehran during military parades with Phoenix, Sparrow and Sidewinder in their underbellies.
I was on the USS Stenniss in 2001-2002 in the AIMD RADAR shop. We had 2 benches for F-18's (4 Squadrons at the time I believe) and 5 benches for 1 squadron of F-14's. The F-14's by far had more work than we did. I suspect the Iran F-14s don't work for shit by now seeing the reliability was so low at the end of it's life cycle.
Fantastic video. Love this plane so much. What a beauty.
7:22 "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
When have Americans ever spoken softly? 😂
Theodore Roosevelt big stick policy. In a U.S History class and I had that "ah-ha" moment
I miss working on and Launching Tomcats. I had alot of fun doing that.
My dad said the best thing he loved about the F-14 was that how agile it was. He also loved taking off on an aircraft carrier almost everyday
You forgot to mention the Douglas F6D Missileer which proceeded the TFX aka F-111 program. It looked like a giant T-37. Its main and only job was to carry 6 AIM-54 Phoenix missiles to their launch points. The four main design features that made it into the F-111B program and then to the F-14A Tomcat were 1.) The two crew 2.) The TF-30 turbofan engine(this time with an afterburner) 3.) The AWG-9 long range radar 4.) Of course the long range Hughes AIM-54 Phoenix Missile. Obviously a literal one trick pony taking up precious space on an aircraft carrier was way too much for the Navy to bear.
Great video!! 👍
Lots of good memories...proud to be in the Tomcat manufacturing program Quality Assurance (QA) up to the D model.
I became a big fan of the F14 as a kid growing up in the 80s watching Robotech on Saturday mornings.
The movie that was the main one for me with the Tomcat in it was not Top Gun. I never really liked that movie. But The Final Countdown on the other hand...
Also, it is also noteworthy to understand the performance of a particular aircraft on the ground as well as in the sky. My father in law worked on the F-14 on the Nimitz and he strongly disliked working on it and said that nothing on it was easy to repair or maintain. It is still one of my favorite aircraft but it was apparently not much fun to work on.
As an Iranian, I'm proud that my country still has the sexiest air vessel even built (despite the fact that I have nothing to do with it). This beautiful beast shows the Americans make the best aircrafts in the world by a huge margin.
yes really khoda ro shokr
I used to own a F-14 toy, it was the coolest thing I ever played with, I was so in love with its adjustable wings which added to how cool it was, I would always think it was like the X-wing because of that.
Actually the AN/AWG-9 is capable of Tracking 24 separate tracks, while in track while scan mode and capable of launching against up to 6 of them simultaneously (limited by however many Phoenix you’re carrying). The other MAJOR plus of TWS is the target doesn’t get a LOCK On OR missile launch warning on their RHWR in TWS mode, just the indications that someone is seeing them until the AIM-54 onboard radar goes active after a pre determined time in flight. It truly was a game changer. The ability to locate targets, ID/track them without giving a lock warning, launch against several without giving a lock OR launch warning and be able to turn out of the fight once your missiles go active is an INSANE advantage. Plus the X band Pulse Doppler Radar was the first operation unit to have reliable look down/shoot down capability; which again in 1974 was a game changer.
My favorite part about the F-14 is how it’s a Naval Strike Fighter, but arguably one of the best Multi-Role naval fighters ever to be made.
Yeah late in it’s life it was going to be fitted with more of an attacking role and that would have been amazing
I was an Air Defense gunner (Vulcan) in the 80's, when we were trained in aircraft recognition the instructor called the F14 an "air superiority fighter", he said what that means is, "If you're up there flying around in it's area of operation that's because it's allowing you to fly around up there".
Duke Craig That’s pretty cool!
This was a really neat video on the F-14. Would love to see you do perhaps a mini-series on the Century Fighters used by the USAF
We will consider it for a future video, thanks for the suggestion!
I worked for Grumman Houston when these were built. We made things like the overwing fairing that was the wing over the pivoting wing. The fairing was super noisy when it was being riveted since it was a huge piece of titanium sheet metal. I personally worked on the Phoenix adapter, tailhook adapter, wing splices, structural pieces, a ton of titanium welding engineering aids for the F14 frame and other stuff in our small machine shop there... We were selling a lot of planes to Iran so part of the deal was to have some Iranians working with us... We were mostly there in Nassau Bay across from Johnson Space Center to work with NASA stuff, but we worked on weird things too, such as Grumman Mallard fuel tanks, wind generators and hot air balloon baskets . The company originally came to that location to build and support the lunar lander...Everything was winding down in the 80's and the last thing I worked on there was the plywood mockup of a section of the future space station. By then we had moved up Old Galveston Highway to a location across from Ellington Air Base, where NASA planes and the astronauts flew from.
If you wanna hear some cool Tomcat stories, buy the book. Tomcat: Bye, Bye, Baby. It's a collection of photos and quotes from pilots. It's pretty fuckin awesome
Easily my fav fighter jet ever. I had the GI JOE Tomcat as a kid. Wish I took better care of it.
You wouldn't of had as much fun with it at the time of you had preserved it for now. In my opinion it's worth enjoying it maximally as a kid at the expense of having bit to sit on a shelf as an adult.
wicked vid. love the F14
+Fybs Us too. They don’t make em like that any more.
Wow, the amount of Subs you guys have gained in just a few days is amazing, no doubt because of you great quality videos! Can’t wait for more.
Thank you, we’re super excited and sant wait to publish our next one!
Wow got my sub. Very high quality stuff. Keep it up and you will be at 100k + subs in no time!
Did you know the *G.I.JOE XP-14F Skystriker* is heavily based on the *F-14 TOMCAT* .
It's a shame really that the *F-14 TOMCATs* are no longer in service.
Thanks for that GI Joe reference, brings back great memories. And it is a shame!
@Felix B It was the best fighter in the world. Much better than the F-35.
Plus it appeared in many video games & movies.
Just a shame it is no longer in service, and that you don't see them flying any more.
Felix B so is the F15.. both planes were commissioned the same year. The F14 requires more maintenance though. The F15 doesn’t have to deal with constant maintenance and rigging of the sweep wings or landing gear constantly taking a beating on a flight deck on every landing. Actually, on an aircraft carrier the gear takes such a pounding that they’re not even called landings; they’re called controlled crashes.
I know right the f-14 would kill a f-18 in a heart beat
Really cool and informative video ;)
i would like to see a video about the sukhoi SU-27
what a beautiful love letter to the tomcat. idk how i got here, but im subbed now, great video, clearly a lot of work and effort went into it.
It's nice to see aviation videos with an actual commentator, not just some robot voice.
If you haven't done a video on the SU-47 already, that would be interesting! :)
The Tom Cat was so influential Shoji Kowamori of Macross fame based the transforming fighter after it( even in lore).
Holy fuckamole, this video is top notch.
The AN/AWG-9 was not developed for the Tomcat, it was developed for F-111B and derived from the AN/ASG-18 that was in development for the XF-108. The F-14 was basically the smallest airframe that could be wrapped around the AN/AWG-9 and its associated avionics system.
The sound on afterburners at airshows. So awesomely loud and thunderous.
Great video ! , love the f-14 Tomcat , can yo do a video about the F-15 Eagle ?
I'll recommend for your future doc ideas :
WW2 Aviation :
- p38
- experimental nazi haunebeu
-me 262
-ar 234
This is high quality content. Thank You.
those folding wings just like the b-1 bomber are I think the most iconic and cool parts of both aircraft.