VF-14 Tophatters - The F-14A Today

swing your wings to a smoother animation!

By LT Mark R. Mineo, USN

The continued versatility of Grumman’s world-famous F-14 Tomcat distinguishes it as an aircraft that was truly before its time. Although the mighty Tom has been complemented in several areas of performance by younger and more technologically advanced aircraft like the F-18 Hornet, the F-16 Falcon, or the F-15 Eagle, it still possesses capabilities unmatched by any other tactical jet in the world. Most of these capabilities can be credited to the Tomcat’s AWG-9 weapons control system, an integrated package of radar, electronics, weapon and display systems tied together by a central computer … it’s the AWG-9 which makes the Tomcat a truly multi-mission strike fighter.

The designation "strike fighter" is, however, a relatively new one for this aircraft. Though the Tomcat has been multi-mission capable from the moment it joined the fleet in 1973, it was designed and operated primarily as an interceptor. Despite, for example, the aircraft’s capability to conduct air to ground missions, these were usually left to the more capable A-6 Intruder, while the Tomcat community focused on its raison d’être—combat air patrol. Understanding the requirements of this mission, as well as the environment and strategic climate within which the F-14 was intended to operate, is key to understanding the Tomcat’s strengths and evolving capabilities.

The Tomcat was designed to replace the Navy’s venerable F-4 Phantom as its primary air-to-air asset during the height of the Cold War. During these years of tension between the East and West, Naval strategists envisioned a conflict on the high seas involving saturation bomber and air-launched cruise missile attacks on the United States’ most versatile, mobile, and powerful weapon—the Aircraft Carrier Battle Group. To counter this threat, the U.S. Navy needed a weapon capable of attacking and destroying many high-speed targets at a distance. And so the long range, actively guided, and very ECM (electronic counter measures) resistant AIM-54 Phoenix missile was born. In an interesting reversal of design philosophy, the F-14 Tomcat was built in order to employ this missile…

To be effective in overcoming a saturation attack, the Tomcat had to be capable of employing multiple Phoenix missiles simultaneously far away from the threat: the F-14 was given a radar capable of detecting and tracking targets in excess of 100 NM, launching and guiding up to six long range Phoenix missiles simultaneously. Such radar would have to be flexible and jam resistant, operating in several modes, and would necessarily be labor intensive. The F-14 was therefore designed as a two seat aircraft, with a dedicated Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) who would operate the weapons system and share other tasking with the pilot, who could then concentrate on employing the aircraft in the most tactically effective way possible. The Tomcat had to be able to stay on station for long periods of time at an extended range from the carrier battle group: the F-14 was designed to carry 16,000 pounds of jet fuel internally, with external tanks adding another 4,000 pounds. The total capacity of 20,000 lbs. gives the Tomcat unparalleled range and endurance. In addition, the Tomcat needed speed in order to conclude it’s intercepts far away from the carrier and afford the battle group the maximum possible time to react and defend against an airborne attack. Built with two afterburning turbo-fan engines producing over 35,000 lbs. of thrust and a sleek airframe incorporating a unique wing sweep system—wings are automatically positioned according to a computer schedule allowing for maximum performance at any airspeed or altitude—the Tomcat can attain speeds greater than Mach 2. Lastly, the experiences of the Vietnam War had taught American Naval Aviators that however effective their jet was at long distance, sooner or later it would have to be lethal in the close-range air-combat arena as well. The F-14 was built with high lift devices giving it competitive maneuverability, and armed with a variety of weapons—the medium range, semi-active AIM-7 missile, the short range, AIM-9 heat-seeking missile, and a 20 mm Vulcan cannon—giving aircrew a choice of the most deadly weapon for any situation.

Clearly, this was an awesome machine for its time, and more than twenty years later it is still an impressive platform, complementing the Navy’s newer strike-fighter platform, the F/A-18 Hornet, with longer detection and engagement ranges and greater endurance. And as the Tomcat grows older, it is not fading away. Improvements this decade have seen completely new developments in the Tomcat’s capabilities as a precision strike platform. The Cat is back!

As the Navy retired the A-6 Intruder, its dedicated all-weather attack platform, the F/A-18 Hornet and F-14 Tomcat were expected to fill the Intruder’s shoes as air-to-ground strikers; if this was a tall order for the Hornet, it was an even greater challenge for the Tomcat community, which, lacking an air-to-ground radar or FLIR targeting system, was pretty much confined to daytime, clear weather "iron" bombing. Tomcat drivers did step up to the plate and begin training to this role, both for pre-planned targets and for close-air support of ground troops. But the lessons of the Persian Gulf War had not been lost on Navy strategists: the awesome display of precision strike capability demonstrated by dedicated attack aircraft and made public through such forums as CNN, was simply impressive. In the post-Cold War era of low intensity, littoral conflicts, precision strike would be the only way to go.

The Tomcat community’s answer to the need for this capability was the Low Altitude Navigation Infra Red Targeting System (LANTIRN), already combat proven on the F-15E and F-16. In an impressively quick and low cost adaptation, the pod was adapted to be carried on one of the Tomcat’s munition stations. To keep the cost down and expedite delivery of this capability to the Fleet, LANTIRN was not fully integrated into the AWG-9 system. It did, however, incorporate a built-in GPS system, providing better targeting and navigation capability for the Tomcat. LANTIRN’s Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) system proved to be of excellent scale and resolution, and with the RIO acting as a dedicated operator, target acquisition has proven to be excellent since LANTIRN’s introduction into the U.S. Fleet. Most importantly, the LANTIRN’s reliable laser guidance capability allows the Tomcat to deliver guided bombs with deadly precision.

Combined with the Tomcat’s Night Vision Device program, in which aircraft lighting is reduced and resolved to allow crew members to wear Night Vision Goggles, the Tomcat has become a truly viable ground attack platform in addition to being a superior air-to-air fighter. Aircrew can find, target, and destroy targets at night, support ground troops, and fight their way home if necessary. Confident that they can hold their own in any air-to-air arena, they can stand watch between the Carrier Battle group and any potential threat, or take the fight to the enemy and keep the skies over the battlefield clear. Aircrew will be doing this in the F-14 Tomcat all day, every day … all around the world … well into the next decade.

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