Is the F-14 still viable?
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Is the F-14 still viable?
The Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcat was already well known when it became famous by Hollywood in the widely loved Top Gun movie as a two-seater, carrier-launched, twin-engine supersonic air superiority fighter. …
Is the f14 a good plane?
If the mission is strictly fleet defense, the F-14 was a perfect platform. Indeed, the Tomcat is known to be a very fast airplane, with great sustained energy performance and, since it carried a great quantity of fuel which gave it a good endurance, the F-14 was also very good for high speed strike missions.
What happened F-14 RIOs?
RIOs were the back-seaters who operated the F-14’s weapon system, were responsible for communication and navigation, and performed other aircrew duties. During a radar intercept the RIO directed the pilot, so he was “verbally flying” the aircraft. That happened in 1997, and the pilot was lost at sea.
Is the hornet better than the Tomcat?
While the Tomcat is powerful, the Hornet and Super Hornet are more agile. If an F/A-18 and F-14 were to fight, the former would have an advantage in that realm. And with a modern aircraft comes a plane easier to fly: the Tomcat was challenging to fly well, while the Hornet is easier to be good in, says Culpepper.
The Tomcat faced an early retirement due to budget cuts following the end of both the Persian Gulf and Cold Wars in 1991. However, the retirement of the Grumman A-6 Intruder was impetus for the U.S. Navy to continue to use the F-14 by upgrading it with a precision strike capability.
A pair of Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) F-14A Tomcats in formation (US Navy photograph/released). Under condition of anonymity, a senior-level official with the Navy has informed TACAIRNET that the service intends on bringing the F-14 Tomcat back from the graveyard to replace the delayed F-35C carrier variant of the Lightning II stealth strike fighter.
How many F-14 Tomcats were shot down in Iraq?
Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war (only 55 of these confirmed according to historian Tom Cooper), while 16 Tomcats were lost including seven losses due to accidents. The Tomcat was retired by U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, having been supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Why did the US Navy give up the Tomcat?
The Navy gave up the sheer speed and the range of the Tomcat because the service did not have to contend with the prospect of fending off hordes of Soviet Tupolev Tu-22M Backfire bombers and their cruise missiles in the post-Soviet era.
The US Navy will procure one F-14 by April 1, 2018, from the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, and will have it refurbished to flight status soon after.
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