Grumman F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, 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-111B project. 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 aboard USS 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 Block I Strike upgrade and Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system and began performing precision ground-attack missions.

As of 2012, the F-14 is currently used by the Canadian Forces Maritime Command, IRIAF, and United States Navy.

Of Aircraft Engines and Interservice Politics
Originally, the plan for the F-14 Tomcat was to have only the first 13-69 F-14s equipped with the TF30s so that R&D could be completed while the USN waited on the Advanced Technology Engine program (which produced the Pratt & Whitney F100 and would've produced the F401 as well) to come to completion. The ATE was a joint project between the USAF and USN with USN funding the unique things that made an F100 into an F401 while USAF was in charge of the development of the basic core of both engines. The way the funding for the core went was that USAF funded the major portion of its R&D (since they would be the big users) up to the point where it met USAF standards. Anything beyond that would have to be funded solely by USN. The problem was the F100, like the TF30, wasn't turning out to be very reliable. Finally came the critical 150 hour test. In order for an engine to be considered acceptable, it had to run for 150 hours. Since the TF30 couldn't be used in the F-15, USAF needed the ATE deperately, fearing that if there were too many problems, Congress might direct them to buy F-14s. So, what USAF did was to run the 150 hour test. But, during the test when it appeared a component was about to fail, but hadn't acutally failed yet, USAF would stop the test, replace the ocomponent and then continue the test from there. In this way, the F100 "completed" the 150 hour test and USAF announced the engine had passed.

USN said this was unacceptable, but since the terms of funding were that USAF no longer had to fund imporvments in reliability for both engines once the F100 core "passed", USN would have had to fund the entire R&D to bring the enigne all the way up to nuff itself. It didn't have the money to do this, so the F401 was canceled. The developmental model of the F-14, the A, became the main production version.

From Iran to Canada
The sole foreign customer for the Tomcat was the Imperial Iranian Air Force, during the reign of the last Shah (King) of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the early 1970s, the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was searching for an advanced fighter, specifically one capable of intercepting Soviet MiG-25 "Foxbat" reconnaissance flights. After a visit of U.S. President Richard Nixon to Iran in 1972, during which Iran was offered the latest in American military technology, the IIAF narrowed its choice to the F-14 Tomcat or McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Grumman Corporation arranged a competitive demonstration of the Eagle against the Tomcat before the Shah, and in January 1974, Iran ordered 30 F-14s and 424 AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, initiating Project Persian King, worth US$300 million. A few months later, this order was increased to a total of 80 Tomcats and 714 Phoenix missiles as well as spare parts and replacement engines for 10 years, complete armament package, and support infrastructure (including construction of the huge Khatami Air Base in the desert near Esfahan). The first F-14 arrived in January 1976, modified only by the removal of classified avionics components, but fitted with the TF-30-414 engines. The following year 12 more were delivered. Meanwhile, training of the first groups of Iranian crews by the U.S. Navy, was underway in the USA; and one of these conducted a successful shoot-down with a Phoenix missile of a target drone flying at 50,000 ft (15 km).

Following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, the air force was renamed the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and the post-revolution interim government of Iran canceled most Western arms orders. On September 15, 1979, the Canadian Forces made a proposal to the Iranian government for Canada to purchase its fleet of 79 F-14A Tomcats. This broke in the Canadian media two days later, to the shock and disgust of Northrop Grumman, which had banked on the F/A-18 Hornet deal.

Having been recently re-elected and knowing that they didn't want to be sued for breach of contract, the DND made the decision that if the government could afford it, they would field all three aircraft. Stanfield decided to gamble the total.

On September 27, 1979, the Canadian Forces announced that the F-14s would be in addition to the NFA program, and that the aircraft would be used to replace the CF-101 Voodoo in the interceptor role. A few pointed out that the Tomcat would be doing what had been envisioned for the Avro Arrow, though the National Post sent a reporter to ask Grumman about how good the F-14 was. That reporter was invited to a test flight by Grumman of a Tomcat, to which he was amazed.

On January 27, 1980, the Iranian government agreed to sell its 79 F-14A fighters to Canada for $1.34 billion dollars. Canada's deposit went quickly, and all of the fighters were flown to Canada between February and August 1980. As soon as news of the sale of the Tomcats was on, the United States offered to also sell Canada the stock of AIM-54 Phoenix missiles that Iran didn't take delivery of, which Canada again took advantage of. Armed as such, the first reformed Canadian Forces CF-184 (the designation for the Tomcat) squadron (No. 425 Squadron) activated on April 25, 1981. The US would also donate the 80th F-14 to the Canadian Air Force as well as the 714 AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles that were originally intended for Iran.

The First Improvements, The F-14B
The F-14 received its first of many major upgrades in March 1987 with the F-14A Plus (or F-14A+). The F-14A's P&W TF30 engine was replaced with the improved GE F110-400 engine. The F-14A+ also received the state-of-the-art ALR-67 Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) system. Much of the avionics as well as the AWG-9 radar were retained. The F-14A+ was later redesignated F-14B on 1 May 1991. A total of 38 new aircraft were manufactured and 48 F-14A were upgraded into B variants. The TF30 had been plagued from the start with susceptibility to compressor stalls at high AoA and during rapid throttle transients or above 30,000 ft (9,100 m). The F110 engine provided a significant increase in thrust, producing 27,600 lbf (123 kN) with afterburner. The increased thrust gave the Tomcat a better than 1:1 thrust-to-weight ratio at low fuel quantities. The basic engine thrust without afterburner was powerful enough for carrier launches, further increasing safety. Another benefit was allowing the Tomcat to cruise comfortably above 30,000 ft (9,100 m), which increased its range and survivability. The F-14B arrived in time to participate in Desert Storm. In the late 1990s, 67 F-14Bs were upgraded to extend airframe life and improve offensive and defensive avionics systems. The modified aircraft became known as F-14B Upgrade or as "Bombcat".

United States
The F-14D variant was first delivered in 1991. The original TF-30 engines were replaced with GE F110-400 engines, similar to the F-14B. The F-14D also included newer digital avionics systems including a glass cockpit and replaced the AWG-9 with the newer AN/APG-71 radar. Other systems included the Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), SJU-17(V) Naval Aircrew Common Ejection Seats (NACES) and Infra-red search and track (IRST). Other improvements would include those utilizes in the Canadian Tomcat fleet. In 1994, the F-14 Tomcat would receive the $1.6 billion Block I strike upgrade (as well as the LANTIRN pods) to increase the Tomcat's air-to-ground capabilities. The USN would also add an upgrade to the F-14D's computer software to allow AIM-120 AMRAAM missile capability was added in 1995. The F-14Ds Super Tomcats would later be upgraded to F-14E Supercat standard in 2005 while the oldest F-14s would be replaced by new build F-14Es.

Canada
Soon after the purchase of the Tomcats, complaints about the TF30 engines and ludicrous maintenance requirements reached the ears of Bombardier and plans were made to reduce some inefficiencies of the original design.

On January 23, 1990, A CF-184 Hornet on maneuvers suffered a massive engine failure as it exercised over Edmonton, Alberta, causing it to plummet into a residential neighborhood. Both crewmen ejected safely, but the crashing plane landed in the yard of an elementary school, killing nine school children. The investigation crash was caused when one of the Pratt and Whitney engines flamed out, causing the pilot to lose control of his aircraft.

The Forces, which had been studying the upgrades made to US Navy F-14s, asked the government to get the funds to replace the Pratt and Whitney engines. After the disaster in Edmonton, the order was quickly approved. The first Canadian Tomcat to get the new General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofans was refitted in July 1990, and all of the aircraft would cycle through the process in 1990 and 1991.

With the orders to re-engine the CF-184A Tomcats after a tragic crash in 1990, Bombardier took the opportunity to do more than just a simple engine refit, and told the shocked military brass of their ambitious plans. Each airframe was carefully opened up, and engineers worked frantically to rebuild the planes' systems. The wiring and control systems were simplified as much as possible, with the flight controls now connected to an improved fly-by-wire computer made by ATI Technologies. A number of never-used components were deleted altogether. The hydraulic systems of the wings were slightly simplified, and the avionics of the F-14D Super Tomcat were installed. As a result, the military was not fuly prepared for the first plane to complete the refit in July.

The Bombardier CF-184B (Often shortened to CF-14B) Super Tomcat, which also included the replacement of the hated TF30 turbofans with GE F110-GE-400s, shocked everyone by needing only 15-25 maintenance manhours per flight hour, and a slight decrease in total weight, improving the maneuverability of the Canadian aircraft by 5 percent over its American F-14D counterparts. While there were still some grumbles about the added costs to the refits, in a stroke of fate, Saudi Arabia had donated 2.1 billion dollars to Ottawa for its help in Operation Desert Storm; some of the money was used to pay for the upgrades, which surprisingly cost less than what American Taxpayer had to pay for the US Navy's F-14 refits.

Birth of a World Beater
In 1994, Grumman, with some assistance from Bombardier, proposed the Attack Super Tomcat 21, an advanced derivative of the Tomcat design. However, while the USN was quite enthusiastic, the DoD wasn't quite as enthusiastic, due to lobbying by several firms for lighter aircraft and mandated that the Hornet 2000 would replace the F-14 Tomcat. The Canadian Air Force (as well as the Fleet Air Arm), however, were very enthusiastic and asked Grumman and Bombardier to deliver on the proposal.

The plans took nearly a decade to complete, as Bombardier executives decided to make a gamble and establish its credentials in the fighter jet business. Bombardier and Grumman took the notoriously high-maintenance, complex Tomcat design and completely reworked everything. Engineers planned to have the complex hydraulic variable wing mechanisms be replaced with high efficiency electric motors and servos. Newly developed touch screen technology was also implemented in the cockpits, and a new Canadian variant of the APG-71 (the AN/APG-71C) radar was installed. In addition, many 21st century electronics were added in later in the development, meaning that the design kept changing.

In 2004, the new CF-184C "Supercat" finally debuted. The new variant had numberous improvement to the airframe itself. Reshaped wing gloves, thicker wings, fowler flaps, reshaped leading edges and forward wing extensions were implemented to give greater range and better performance at speed. The planes were refitted with improved F110-GE-432 (Navalised F110-GE-132) engines that had brand new two-dimensional thrust vectoring to improve maneuverability.

The cockpit now had a Single-piece windshield for better visibility. RIM produced new helmet-mounted displays, replacing the older style HUDs. New radar modes were added for terrain following, forward air control, moving target indication, sea search and synthetic aperture radar reconaissance. The Supercat also had a full night-vision cockpit including FLIR systems and infrared tracking, improved databus and electronic components with liquid cooling, additional hardpoints for extra carrying capacity, a reshaped tail for less drag, a towed decoy, and even a new missile launch warning system.

The Supercat became a world beater, a 4.5th+ Generation fighter aircraft that in exercises even defeated USAF F-15C and Indian Su-30MKI jets. It's thrust vectoring meant it was the most maneuverable carrier aircraft of the time, with Canadian Supercats even managing to outfly smaller F-18s and F-16s with ease. The US Navy had in fact ordered their own units as the F-14E Super Tomcat, built by Grumman but with many Canadian parts.

On August 20, 2012, Bombardier took one of the older CF-14s, one of the last ex-IRIAF units, and fitted it with two of the Haida test engines. The Haida-powered Supercat flew for the first time on August 20, and the pilots involved noted that the slight increase in fuel consumption was matched by a dramatic increase in power - and the Haida's thrust vectoring nozzles improved the Supercat's maneuverability and acceleration, to boot.

Users

 * Canadian Forces Air Command/Royal Canadian Air Force (1980-2012)
 * No. 416 Squadron
 * No. 418 Squadron
 * No. 419 Squadron
 * No. 421 Squadron
 * No. 423 Squadron
 * No. 425 Squadron
 * No. 426 Squadron
 * Canadian Forces Maritime Command/Royal Canadian Navy
 * VFH-854 "Jolly Rogers"
 * VFH-855 "Wolfpack"
 * VFH-856 "Renegades"
 * VFH-857 "Devil's Rejects"
 * VFH-858 "Silver Kings"
 * VFH-859 "Bandits"
 * Royal Air Force
 * No.5 Squadron RAF
 * No.11 Squadron RAF
 * No.19 Squadron RAF
 * No.23 Squadron RAF
 * No.25 Squadron RAF
 * No.29 Squadron RAF
 * No.43 Squadron RAF
 * No.56 Squadron RAF
 * No.65 Squadron RAF
 * No.74 Squadron RAF
 * No.92 Squadron RAF
 * No.111 Squadron RAF
 * NO.145 Squadron RAF
 * Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
 * 62nd Tactial Fighter Squadron
 * 72nd Tactical Fighter Squadron
 * 73rd Tactical Fighter Squadron
 * 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron
 * 82nd Tactical Fighter Squadron
 * 83rd Tactical Fighter Squadron
 * Tomcat Flight School
 * United States Navy
 * VF-1 "Wolfpack"
 * VF-2 "Bounty Hunters"
 * VF-11 "Red Rippers"
 * VF-12 "Ubangis"
 * VF-14 "Tophatters"
 * VF-21 "Freelancers"
 * VF-24 "Fighting Renegades"
 * VF-31 "Tomcatters"
 * VF-32 "Swordsmen"
 * VF-33 "Starfighters"
 * VF-41 "Black Aces"
 * VF-43 "Challengers"
 * VF-51 "Screaming Eagles"
 * VF-74 "Bedivilers"
 * VF-84 "Jolly Rogers"
 * VF-92 "Silver Kings"
 * VF-96 "Fighting Falcons"
 * VF-101 "Grim Reapers"
 * VF-102 "Diamondbacks"
 * VF-103 "Sluggers"
 * VF-111 "Sundowners"
 * VF-114 "Aardvarks"
 * VF-121 "Pacemakers"
 * VF-124 "Gunfighters"
 * VF-126 "Bandits"
 * VF-142 "Ghostriders"
 * VF-143 "Pukin' Dogs"
 * VF-154 "Black Knights"
 * VF-191 "Satan's Kittens"
 * VF-194 "Red Lightnings"
 * VF-162 "Zodiacs"
 * VF-201 "Hunters"
 * VF-202 "Superheats"
 * VF-211 "Fighting Checkmates"
 * VF-213 "Black Lions"
 * VF-301 "Devil's Disciples"
 * VF-302 "Stallions"
 * VX-4 "Evaluators"
 * VX-9 "Vampires"
 * VX-23 "Salty Dogs"
 * Navy Fighter Weapons School