Grumman
F-14 Tomcat

Instructions to Grumman F-14 Tomcat: https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/hznH6x/Grumman-F-14-Tomcat

Mods: Overload

Controls:

AG-2: Arrestor Hook
AG-3: Catapult Connector
AG-6: Drop Tank (Detach)
AG-7: Canopy (Open/Close)
AG-8: Deactivate Engines

Trim Down: Flaps
VTOL Up: Afterburner
VTOL Down: Sweep Wings + Afterburner

(I): Connect/Release to Catapult
(G): Retract/Extend Landing Gear
(B): Air Breaks/Cut Throttle
(R): Cycle Targeting Mode (Air-Air/Air-Ground)
(Left Tab): Cycle to next target
(F): Cycle to next Weapon/Ordnance
(Space Bar): Fire Gun
(Left Alt): Fire Ordnance
(V): Deploy Chaff (Counter-measure dispenser)

Armament/Ordnance:

x2 - Interceptors
x4 - Guardians

Compatible Alternative Ordnance (Air to Ground)

Cleaver - Replace with Drop Tanks
Inferno - Replace with Interceptors or Guardians
Boom-25 - Replace with Interceptors or Guardians
Boom-50 - Replace with Drop Tanks
Torpedo - Replace with Interceptors or Guardians

Authentic Alternative Armament/Ordnance (Sub-assemblies):

AIM-54 "Pheonix": https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/rr8WdA/AIM-54C-suzutuki65-F14-Color

AIM-9 "Sidewinder": https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/S6OcbT/AIM-9-Sidewinder

Procedures:

Carrier Takeoff:

1. Taxi to catapult
2. Activate AG-3 (Catapult Connector)
3. Connect to catapult (I)
4. Lower Flaps (Trim 1/2 down)
5. Increase throttle to 25% thrust
6. Pull back and hold (Controls back)
7. Release catapult (I)
8. Increase throttle to 100% thrust
9. De-activate AG-3 (Catapult Connector)
10. Retract Landing Gear (G)
11. Raise Flaps (Trim 1/2 up)

Carrier Landing:
(Difficult)

1. Line up with flight deck runway (From stern, line up with right-ward wake extremity)
2. Reduce throttle to 15% thrust
3. Extend landing gear (G)
4. Lower Flaps (Trim down)
5. Lower Arrestor Hook (AG-2)
6. Line up slightly above deck height
7. Cut throttle + Air-Breaks (B) over ramp (Over the deck)
8. Land (Aim for Arrestor Wire No. 3)
9. Break (B)
10. Raise Arrestor Hook (AG-2)

Credit to: Suzutuki65

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a naval supersonic jet fighter and interceptor. It was designed and developed by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in the late 1960s as part of the United States Navy's VFX Program and was retired from active-duty in 2006 after thirty years of front-line service.

With twin "V" tail units, Variable-Geometry wings, dual augmented turbofan engines or turbojet afterburners, catapult "shuttle" mountings and tail hook suitable for carrier takeoffs and landings (known as "traps"), retractable refueling receptacle ("probe") making it capable of air-to-air or "in-flight-refueling" (IFR – not to be confused with Instrument Flying Rules) and tandem Martin-Baker GRU7A rocket-assisted ejection seats for the aircraft’s pilots (colloquially known as the "Driver") and "Radio/Radar Intercept Officer" (R.I.O), the F-14 served as the US Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defence interceptor and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform for the duration of its service encompassing a broad range of necessary applications.

Equipped with two Pratt & Whitney TF30 or alternatively General Electric F110 medium by-pass turbofan engines in later variants, aided by its Variable-Geometry wings, the F-14 is capable of Mach 2.34 which is equivalent to 1,560kn (Knots) or 1,795 miles per hour (2,888kmph) its innovative and automatic Variable-Geometry wings gave it a multi-role capability for supersonic flight with wings at maximum sweep (68%) and maneuverability at low-speed flight at minimum sweep/spread (20%).

This revolutionary technology had been pioneered nearly 25 years before the Tomcats introduction, originally in the Messerschmitt P.1101 and later the Bell X-5, and had been further tested on the F-14s experimental predecessor, the F-111B. The thrust generated by the dual General Electric F110 engines, capable of producing 16,110lbf (pounds of thrust) on dry thrust or 28,200lbf with full afterburner, also gave the F-14 a far greater power to weight ratio enabling it to perform a vertical climb while accelerating.

With a range of 1,840mi (miles) (2,960km (kilometers)), though considerably less in combat conditions with a 575-1,150mi (925-1850km) combat radius, the F-14 could climb at an excess of 45,000ft/min (feet-per-minute) or 229m/s (meters-per-second) with a recorded service ceiling of approximately 50,000ft (15,200m). Sitting 16ft (4.8m) high, 62ft (19.1m) long and with a varying wingspan of 64ft (19.5m) when spread and 38ft (11.58m) when swept the Tomcat had an empty weight of 43,735lb (19,840kg), loaded weight of 61,000lb (27,700kg) and a maximum takeoff weight of 74,350lb (33,720kg).

Integrated with an advanced electronic interface including the Hughes AN/AWG- 9 Doppler Radar system, Northrop Television Camera Set (TCS) for long-range targeting, Kaiser AN/AVG-12 head-up display (HUD) and Goodyear ANIALE-39 chaff dispenser, a radar jamming counter measure, the F-14 offered an advanced but reliable electrical interface. Positioned in the aft seat, it was the task of the R.I.O to operate and monitor the aircrafts various systems and sensors including fuel consumption, radio communications, navigation, avionics, weapon status, radar detection, target identification and firing Beyond Visual Range weapons (BVR) such as the Pheonix missile.

Armed with a twenty-millimeter General Electric M-61A1 Vulcan Gatling gun internally mounted in the forward section of the fuselage on the port (left) side, capable of firing up to six-thousand rounds a minute and equipped with eight hardpoints for carrying ordnance such as the short, medium and long-range air-to-air missiles, Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-54 Pheonix missiles, and air-to-ground ordnance including the Rock-eye bomb and CBU cluster bombs, the F-14 was one of the most heavily armed fighter platforms of its day with a 14,500lb (6,580kg) maximum weight in ordnance.

Capable of carrying six AIM-54 Pheonix Missiles, the United States first and only radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile (AAM), the F-14, its only operational launch platform, and its advanced AN/AWG-9 Doppler-Radar system, capable of targeting up to twenty-four targets at any one time, the Pheonix Missile could simultaneously identify and engage up to six targets at once from an excess of 195 miles (315km) distance.

Beginning in the late 1950s, the US Navy sought a long range, high-performance air superiority fighter and fleet air defence interceptor (FAD) fitted with a powerful radar and long-range missiles to combat Soviet fighters and bombers. The General Dynamics Grumman F-111B, the result of the joint USAF-USN (United States Air Force – United States Navy) TFX Program (Tactical Fighter Experimental) failed to offer the necessary specifications that the Navy required resulting in the discontinuation of funding for the project, enabling it to pursue its own design founding the VFX Program (Naval Fighter Experimental) in 1968. A year earlier in 1967 the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation submitted three designs to the Navy, which they continued to refine, and in 1969 was selected for the contract of the F-14 over McDonnell-Douglas with its Model 303 design.

On December 21st 1970 the F-14 made its debut flight and from 1972-74 the F-14, nicknamed Tomcat in keeping with Grumman's tradition of naming their fighter aircraft after felines and in honour of the aircrafts greatest advocate, Vice Admiral Thomas (Tom) Connolly, entered service with the United States Navy, replacing its Vietnam War-era counterpart, the F-4 Phantom II.

The F-14 maintained a distinguished operational career, beginning its service flying combat patrols over South Vietnam from 1974-75 as air-support during Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of "at-risk" American civilians from Saigon post-Vietnam War though failing to engage with NVA (North Vietnamese) MiGs. Tomcats were also tasked with intercepting Soviet fighters and bombers, abiding by the rules of engagement, serving as an armed escort to ensure they did not pose a threat to the fleet. These intercepts occurred frequently and for the duration of the Cold War (1947-1991).

During the late 1970s, prior to the Iranian Revolution, Iran placed an order for eighty F-14s, which were delivered from 1976-78, to combat Soviet MiG-25s. Following this deal and as a result of the revolution, the US and Grumman refused to send spare parts to Iran. For that reason, the US is today scrapping all its remaining Tomcats to prevent the sourcing of spare parts by Iran. It is therefore believed that only twelve air-worthy F-14 Tomcats are operational internationally.

In August 1981 the F-14 saw its first combat whilst patrolling a section of international waters, illegally claimed by Libya as their own territorial waters, in the Gulf of Sidra, the southern Mediterranean. US Supercarriers USS Nimitz and USS Forrestal, tasked with opposing the claim, launched multiple F-14s that continued to engage with Libyan SU-22s over the course of multiple days until two such Tomcats engaged in a dogfight in which two enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Again, on the 4th of January 1989, a similar incident involving two Tomcats and two Libyan MiG-23s occurred over the Mediterranean, 64 kilometres north of Tobruk, in which the two MiGs were shot down. In 1983 a multinational peacekeeping operation resulted in multiple engagements over Lebanon between F-14s and Syrian MiGs although no combat occurred. The F-14s also came under significant ground fire from Syrian Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) during the operation.

Two years later in 1985, the hijacking of Italian Cruise Liner, the Achille Lauro, resulted in no less than seven F-14As being scrambled from the deck of the USS Saratoga to intercept and escort an Egypt Air Boeing 737 which carried the liners once hijackers to a point at which they could land and be extracted from the aircraft by security services. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force’s seventy-nine F-14s (the final Tomcat failing to be delivered due to the revolution) participated in the Iran-Iraq War from 1980-88 shooting down a total of one-hundred and thirty confirmed Iraqi aircraft to losses of only eight Tomcats.

During the (Persian) Gulf War (1990-91) the F-14 played an integral role in US Military aerial strikes and engagements. Resulting from Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait causing an international incident, the US and its allies deployed their forces to the area including ten carrier-based F-14 squadrons which flew strike-support, combat patrols, aerial reconnaissance and fleet defense missions during Operation’s Desert Shield and Desert Storm and scored one aerial victory against an Iraqi Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopter although multiple MiG kills were claimed but remained unconfirmed.

In 1998, following the Gulf War with Iraq and part of Operation Southern Watch, a concentrated four-day bombing campaign was launched, codenamed Operation Desert Fox, in retaliation to Iraq’s failure to comply to and denial of the existence of UN (United Nations) No-Fly Zones established in the area which were continually patrolled by UN peace-keeping forces including F-14s from the US Navy. Early in 1999 four USN F-14s, flying in formation with two USAF F-15 Eagles were engaged by thirteen Iraqi MiG-25s and Mirage F-1s whilst on such a patrol. The F-14s reportedly fired at the Iraqi aggressors from a long-range but failed to score a direct hit.

In 1999, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) intervened in the Kosovo War in what had once been known as Yugoslavia following Serbian politician, Slobodan Miloševics, oppression of the Albanian race in the preceding decade which ultimately caused rebellion against Serb rule in the form of the Kosovo Liberation Army. F-14 squadrons from United States Navy aircraft carriers stationed in the Adriatic Sea flew multi-role missions over Yugoslavia for the duration of the conflict. Their missions included air-to-ground strikes, close-air-support (CAS), Forward Air Control (FAC) and Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) missions.

During this time, as a result of further discrimination against Albanians including expulsion and massacres, NATO ordered a concentrated bombing campaign against Serbia which lasted many weeks throughout March to June of 1999. This campaign included multiple carrier-based F-14 squadrons. Their role included enemy fighter-suppression, Forward Air Control, precision laser-guided air-to-ground attacks and later to fly cover for international KFOR (Kosovo Force) troops deployed in Kosovo. This brief conflict would become known as the Kosovo Crisis.

Following the September eleven attacks on the World Trade Center (9/11) in 2001, a resurgence against terrorism ensued which resulted in multiple attacks against Taliban and al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan by US Forces, including strikes carried out by F-14s from five carrier-based VF Squadrons. Then in March 2003 following disagreements with Iraq, and failure by the United Nations to resolve the issue, the US entered war with Iraq in which five F-14 squadrons were deployed, the Tomcat remaining the “platform of choice for precision targeting”, quoting then deputy commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln, even over the newly introduced F/A-18E Super Hornet.

Possibly the most secretive operations of the F-14s extraordinary career remains, to this day, shrouded in mystery. Shore-based, possibly unorthodox for the generally carrier-based F-14, and operating totally and completely with United States Special Forces, allegedly in Western Iraq during 2003, Navy Officials stated that the highly secretive operations in which the F-14 was engaged required an effective fighter platform with a long-range, excessive speeds, air-to-ground strike capabilities and an advanced but reliable interface, all of which were resident in the F-14 Tomcat. Information concerning these operations and the Tomcats involvement remain strictly classified.

The Tomcat also took frontline roles on the screen in TV series and movies such as naval based blockbuster TOPGUN and ten season running hit legal drama JAG, both of which followed the (fictional) careers of naval aviators flying Tomcats, as well as in the science-fiction film; the Final Countdown.

At the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and consequently the conclusion of the Cold War, the United States immediate necessity for an air-superiority fighter and fleet defender was eliminated making the F-14 a "warrior without a war". In 2006, after more than thirty years of active front-line service with the United States Navy, the F-14 was decommissioned from service due to mounting running and maintenance costs. By its retirement the F-14 Tomcat had served in thirty-one operational naval fighter squadrons, shot down one-hundred and thirty-five confirmed enemy aircraft (including with the IRIAF as well as the US Navy) and been mass produced in a total of 712 aircraft across three variants; the F-14A, F-14B and F-14D.

Written By: Biggles15