Grumman F-14 Tomcat

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The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twinjet, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program following the collapse of the F-111Bproject. The F-14 was the first of the American teen-series fighters which were designed incorporating the experience of air combat against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.


The F-14 first flew in December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboardUSS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical reconnaissance platform. In the 1990s, it added the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system and began performing precision ground-attack missions.^[1]


The Tomcat was retired from the U.S. Navy's active fleet on 22 September 2006, having been supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E and F Super Hornets.^[2] As of 2014, the F-14 was in service with only the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, having been exported to Iran in 1976, when the U.S. had amicable diplomatic relations with Iran.

F-14 Tomcat
A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over thePersian Gulf-region in 2005.
Role	Interceptor, air superiority andmultirole combat aircraft
National origin	United States of America
Manufacturer	Grumman Aerospace Corporation
First flight	21 December 1970
Introduction	22 September 1974
Retired	22 September 2006 (United States Navy)
Status	In service with the Iranian Air Force
Primary users	United States Navy (historical) Imperial Iranian Air Force (historical) Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
Produced	1969-1991
Number built	712
Unit cost	US$38 million (1998)

Specifications (F-14D)[edit]

F-14A, VF 111 "Sundowners" (USS Carl Vinson)

Data from U.S. Navy file,^[154] Spick,^[34] M.A.T.S.^[155]


General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer)
  
• Length: 62 ft 9 in (19.1 m)
  
• Wingspan:
  
  • Spread: 64 ft (19.55 m)
    
  • Swept: 38 ft (11.58 m)
    
  
  
• Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
  
• Wing area: 565 ft² (54.5 m²)
  
• Airfoil: NACA 64A209.65 mod root, 64A208.91 mod tip
  
• Empty weight: 43,735 lb (19,838 kg)
  
• Loaded weight: 61,000 lb (27,700 kg)
  
• Max. takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,720 kg)
  
• Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans
  • Dry thrust: 13,810 lbf (61.4 kN) each
    
  • Thrust with afterburner: 27,800 lbf (123.7 kN) each
    
  
  
• Maximum fuel capacity: 16,200 lb internal; 20,000 lb with 2x 267 gallon external tanks^[34]
  

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at high altitude
  
• Combat radius: 500 nmi (575 mi, 926 km)
  
• Ferry range: 1,600 nmi (1,840 mi, 2,960 km)
  
• Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,200 m)
  
• Rate of climb: >45,000 ft/min (229 m/s)
  
• Wing loading: 113.4 lb/ft² (553.9 kg/m²)
  
• Thrust/weight: 0.92
  

Armament

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon, with 675 rounds
  
• Hardpoints: 10 total: 6× under-fuselage, 2× under nacelles and 2× on wing gloves^{[156][N 2]} with a capacity of 14,500 lb (6,600 kg) of ordnance and fuel tanks^[157]
  
• Missiles:
  
  • Air-to-air missiles: AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder
    
  
  
• Loading configurations:
  • 2× AIM-9 + 6× AIM-54 (Rarely used due to weight stress on airframe)
    
  • 2× AIM-9 + 2× AIM-54 + 3× AIM-7 (Most common load during Cold War era)
    
  • 2× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-54 + 2× AIM-7
    
  • 2× AIM-9 + 6× AIM-7
    
  • 4× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-54
    
  • 4× AIM-9 + 4× AIM-7
    
  
  
• Bombs:
  
  • JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)
    
  • Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
    
  • Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
    
  • Mk 20 Rockeye II
    
  
  
• Others:
  • Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS)
    
  • LANTIRN targeting pod
    
  • 2× 267 US gal (1,010 l; 222 imp gal) drop tanks for extended range/loitering time
    
  
  

Avionics

• Hughes AN/APG-71 radar
  
• AN/ASN-130 INS, IRST, TCS
  
• Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) upgrade