Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against smaller, more maneuverable MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.
The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier, 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 aerial reconnaissance platform into the 2000s. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night pod system was added in the 1990s and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions. The Tomcat was retired by the U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Several retired F-14s have been put on display across the US.
Having been exported to Pahlavi Iran under the Western-aligned Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1976, F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Imperial Iranian Air Force. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force used them during the Iran–Iraq War. Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war, while 16 Tomcats were lost, including seven losses to accidents.
Development
Background
Beginning in the late 1950s, the U.S. Navy sought a long-range, high-endurance interceptor to defend its carrier battle groups against long-range anti-ship missiles launched from the jet bombers and submarines of the Soviet Union. They outlined the idea of a Fleet Air Defense aircraft with a more powerful radar and longer range missiles than the F-4 Phantom II to intercept both enemy bombers and missiles at very long range. Studies into this concept led to the Douglas F6D Missileer project of 1959, but this large subsonic aircraft would have limited ability to evade supersonic fighters or defend itself once it fired its missiles, and the project was canceled in December 1961.The Navy still sought long-range defensive aircraft, but with higher performance than the Missileer. The Navy was directed to participate in the Tactical Fighter Experimental program with the U.S. Air Force by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who favored versatile aircraft that could be shared by both services, reducing procurement and development costs. To this end, he had already directed the USAF to buy the F-4 Phantom II—which was developed for the Navy and could serve both as a fighter-bomber and an interceptor aircraft—instead of buying more F-105 Thunderchief and F-106 Delta Dart aircraft to fill each respective role.
The TFX had adequate speed, range and payload for the FAD role, but was designed primarily as a fighter-bomber and interdictor that lacked the maneuverability and overall performance that the Navy expected. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX as it feared compromises necessary for the Air Force's need for a low-level attack aircraft would adversely impact the aircraft's performance as a fighter. Their concerns were overridden, and the project went ahead as the F-111B. Lacking recent experience in naval fighters, the F-111's main contractor, General Dynamics, partnered with Grumman to provide the experience needed to develop a naval version. Weight and performance issues plagued the program, and with the F-111B in distress, Grumman began studying improvements and alternatives. In 1966, the Navy awarded Grumman a contract to begin studying advanced fighter designs. Grumman narrowed down these designs to its Model 303 design.
Through this same period, experience in Vietnam against the more agile MiG fighters demonstrated that the Phantom lacked the maneuverability needed to win in any engagement. This led to the VFAX program to study new fighter aircraft that would either replace or supplant the Phantom in the fighter and ground-attack roles while the TFX worked the long-range interception role. Grumman continued work on its 303 design and offered it to the Navy in 1967, which led to fighter studies by the Navy. The company continued to refine the design into 1968.
Around this time, Vice Admiral Thomas F. Connolly, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare, flew the developmental F-111A variant on a flight and discovered that it had difficulty going supersonic and had poor carrier landing characteristics. He later testified before Congress about his concerns against the official Navy position and, in May 1968, Congress stopped funding for the F-111B, allowing the Navy to pursue an answer tailored to its requirements.
VFX
Free to choose their solution to the FAD requirement, VFAX ended in favor of a new design that would combine the two roles. In July 1968, the Naval Air Systems Command issued a request for proposals for the Naval Fighter Experimental program. VFX called for a tandem two-seat, twin-engine air-to-air fighter with a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. It would also have a built-in 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon and a secondary close air support role. The VFX's air-to-air missiles would be either six AIM-54 Phoenix or a combination of six AIM-7 Sparrow and four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Bids were received from General Dynamics, Grumman, Ling-Temco-Vought, McDonnell Douglas, and North American Rockwell; four bids incorporated variable-geometry wings.The name "Tomcat" was partially chosen to pay tribute to Connolly, as the nickname "Tom's Cat" had already been widely used within the program during development to reflect Connolly's involvement, and now the moniker was adapted into an official name in line with the Grumman tradition of giving its fighter aircraft feline names. Changing it to Tomcat associated the aircraft with the previous Grumman aircraft Wildcat, Hellcat, Tigercat, and Bearcat propeller fighters along with the Panther, Cougar, and Tiger jet fighters. Other names considered were Alley Cat and Seacat.
Full-scale development
McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968. Grumman's 303E design was selected for the contract award in January 1969. The design reused the TF30 engines from the F-111B, though the Navy planned on replacing them with the Pratt & Whitney F401-400 engines under development for the Navy, along with the related Pratt & Whitney F100 for the USAF. Though lighter than the F-111B, it was still the largest and heaviest U.S. fighter to fly from an aircraft carrier, a consequence of the requirement to carry the large AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles and an internal fuel load of. The design service life was 6,000 flight hours, although this was later extended to 7,200 hours.Upon winning the contract for the F-14, Grumman greatly expanded its Calverton, Long Island, New York facility for evaluating the aircraft. Much of the testing, including the first of many compressor stalls and multiple ejections, took place over Long Island Sound. To save time and avoid cancellation by the new presidential administration, the Navy skipped the prototype phase and jumped directly to full-scale development; the Air Force took a similar approach with its McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract. The fighter reached initial operational capability in 1973. The United States Marine Corps was initially interested in the F-14 as an F-4 Phantom II replacement, going so far as to send officers to Fighter Squadron One Twenty-Four to train as instructors. The Marine Corps pulled out of any procurement when the development of the stores' management system for ground attack munitions was not pursued and decided the upcoming F-18 fit their role better. An air-to-ground capability was not developed until the 1990s.
Firing trials involved launches against simulated targets of various types, from cruise missiles to high-flying bombers. AIM-54 Phoenix missile testing from the F-14 began in April 1972. The longest single Phoenix launch was successful against a target at a range of in April 1973. Another unusual test was made on 22 November 1973, when six missiles were fired within 38 seconds at Mach 0.78 and ; four scored direct hits, one broke the lock and missed, and one was declared "no test" after the radar signature augmentation in the target drone failed, causing the missile to break track. This gave a tested success rate of 80% since effectively only 5 missiles were tested. This was the most expensive single test of air-to-air missiles ever performed at that time.
Improvements and changes
Throughout production, the F-14 underwent significant upgrades in missile armament, especially with the move to full solid-state electronics, primarily allowing for better Electronic counter-countermeasures and more space for the rocket motor. The AIM-54A Phoenix active-radar air-to-air missile was upgraded with the AIM-54B and AIM-54C versions. The initial AIM-7E-4 Sparrow semi-active radar homing was upgraded to the AIM-7F in 1976, and the M variant in 1982. The heat-seeking missile armament was upgraded from the AIM-9J/H to the joint Air Force/Navy missile, the AIM-9L in 1979, and then the AIM-9M in 1982.The Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System was developed in the late 1970s for the F-14. Approximately 65 F-14As and all F-14Ds were modified to carry the pod. TARPS was primarily controlled by the Radar Intercept Officer via an extra display for observing reconnaissance data. The "TARPS Digital " was a 1996 upgrade featuring a digital camera. The digital camera was further updated beginning in 1998 with the "TARPS Completely Digital " configuration that also provided real-time transmission of imagery.
In 1984, plans were announced to replace the existing TF30 engines of the Tomcat with General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofans. An initial, interim, version just replaced the TF30 with the new engine, retaining the original avionics. These aircraft were designated F-14A+, which was changed to F-14B in May 1991. 38 F-14Bs were newly built, with a further 43 converted from F-14As. The F-14D variant was developed at the same time; it included the F110 engines with newer digital avionics systems such as a glass cockpit and compatibility with the Link 16 secure datalink. 37 F-14Ds were new builds while another 18 were converted from F-14As. The Digital Flight Control System notably improved the F-14's handling qualities when flying at a high angle of attack or in air combat maneuvering.
While the F-14 had been developed as a lightweight alternative to the F-111B, the F-14 was still the heaviest and most expensive fighter of its time. VFAX was revived in the 1970s as a lower cost solution to replacing the Navy and Marine Corps' fleets of F-4s, and A-7s. VFAX was directed to review the fighters in the USAF Light Weight Fighter competition, which led to the development of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet as roughly a midsize fighter and attack aircraft.