The last public appearance of the F-14 Tomcat

Navy news ^

[A.A. Cunningham]

Oddly enough, The F-14 was one of the few naval aircraft never given to the Marines.

The Marines were strong armed into buying the F-14, ~70 birds, in a quid pro quo by the Navy for getting the Harrier; VMFA-122 was supposed to get them initially. The Marine Corps never wanted them, choosing to stick with the Phantom II until the F-18 became available. Finally, after continued bitching by the Commandant, Schlesinger canceled the buy in July of '75. Several Marines actually became qualified F14 pilots/RIOs and even deployed with Navy VFs. Saw a 70s Marine Corps recruiting poster at Whidbey Island in 1982 that had a picture of an F-14 on it.

[A.A. Cunningham]

As far as the Phoenix missle, I don't think we are allowed to use it anymore due to international laws.

Nonsense. The AIM-54 was withdrawn from service a year ago due to the fact that the F-14 was being retired. The money spent maintaining the Phoenix would be "better" spent elsewhere.

[A.A. Cunningham]

051010-N-5088T-001 Persian Gulf (Oct. 10, 2005) – A specially painted F-14D Tomcat, assigned to the “Blacklions” of Fighter Squadron Two One Three (VF-213), conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf. VF-213 is assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), currently embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Scott Timmester (RELEASED)

[A.A. Cunningham]

Just a possible note of hope for the 2006 airshow circuit, according to the latest issue of Combat Aircraft magazine, VF-31 will retain their Tomcats after the cruise ends as VF-213 will immediately begin transitioning to the F/A-18E. VF-31 will remain in a "surge" status in case they are needed for redeployment until they begin transitioning to the F/A-18E in late summer/early fall of 2006. If the Navy wants to spend the money there might indeed be a 2006 farewell tour for the F-14.

051116-N-5832A-002 Persian Gulf (Nov. 16, 2005) - A Plane Captain assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31), cleans the canopy on one of the squadron's F-14D Tomcats on the flight deck the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are currently underway in the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Steel Curtain, a joint U.S.-Iraqi military offensive aimed at preventing cells of Al Qaeda from entering Iraq through the Syrian border. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Derek Allen (RELEASED)

[VOA]

bump

[Paul Ross]

Bump!

You might find this an appropriate thread addendum.

End of line for F-14, the world's most recognised aircraft
Bangkok Post 02/15/06
author: Mazen Mahdi

Manama _ The F-14, by far the world's most recognised military aircraft, is in the last leg of its final deployment before being retired. The last 22 F-14s flying in the US Navy will conclude the final deployment in the Gulf in coming days as the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt heads home to Norfolk, Virginia after a six-month cruise.

Over the years, some people have described the F-14, made famous by the 1986 movie Top Gun, starring young heartthrob Tom Cruise, as the Navy's greatest recruiting tool.

Yet the fighter that epitomised the glamourous side of naval aviation is being retired between July and October 2006, after more than 30 years in service as the US Navy prepares to switch to the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets during the spring.

Former Naval Forces Central Command and Commander of the Fifth Fleet Vice Admiral David Nichols who had just left his post in the last operational arena of the F-14, commended the aircraft's capability, saying it had been ''a great airplane for the Navy''.

''We bought the F-14 primarily as a fleet defence airplane in the context of the Cold War to defend against a Soviet attack and to provide a defensive umbrella to move our carriers forward to take the fight to the Soviets, if it came to that,'' he said just before leaving his post in Bahrain in November.

He pointed out that the F-14 proved its worth in air-to-air missions in Desert Storm and in subsequent patrols and action in no-fly zone enforcement over Iraq.

He added that it played a key role in Afghanistan and continues to play an important role in supporting troops on the ground in Iraq after they added air-to-ground ordnance capability in the last 10 years.

The F-14s, which cost around US million each, are getting old and expensive to maintain due to older hydraulic and electrical systems that are harder to maintain than newer aircraft. Numerous modifications over the years made improvements seen in various versions of the original F-14A to include the F-14A+, F-14B, F-14C, and F-14D.

''It is going away because of the people, not because of the relevance of the aircraft airframe,'' Tomcatters squadron Commanding Officer Rick Labranche said from onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Labranche, who in January made his 1,000th arrested landing with an F-14, pointed out that his squadron will be the last to fly the F- 14. ''It is like saying goodbye to a friend,'' he said. ''It is an end of an era.''

Both the Tomcatters and the Black Lions squadron, which switches planes first in April, are deployed onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt as part of its Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 aircraft armada.

They flew over the beach to support coalition ground forces on Oct 6 in Iraq as CVW 8 launched its first combat operations in more than two and a half years, in support of Operation Iraq freedom with more than half of the air wing's personnel participating in flight procedures that involved missions over land and sea.

The two-seat, twin-engine supersonic fighter-bomber with variable- position wings was originally deployed in the early 1970s to provide fleet security by intercepting and destroying enemy aircraft.

Over time it doubled as a fighter escort, tactical air reconnaissance, and air-to-surface strike fighter that could deliver precision hits against ground targets.

Its air-to-surface role further evolved just days before its current deployment began in September, when the aircraft received clearance to drop GBU-38, the 500-pound version of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), allowing it to take on more air-to-ground missions against Iraqi insurgents.

In December, ahead of the Iraqi elections, both squadrons had their aircraft upgraded with technology to download data to laptop computers that give troops the ability to view their surroundings from the aircraft's point of view.

According to some military experts, the gap created by retiring the F-14s would not be fully filled until the Joint Strike Fighter F- 35 currently being developed by Lockheed Martin enters the service in 2014. The Navy says that the F-35 complements the role of the F-18, but in all likelihood the F-35 will eventually replace the F-18, too.

A number of the decommissioned F-14s have found their way to air museums around the United States, but most are expected to head to desert preservation in Tucson, Arizona at Davis Monthan Airforce Base, site of the Aerospace Maintenance and Recovery Centre (AMARC), better known as the boneyard.

A special non-profit entity called The Tomcat Sunset Committee was recently formed to plan and execute an official farewell ceremony in September for the F-14 Tomcat.

[Jeff Head]

"According to some military experts, the gap created by retiring the F-14s would not be fully filled until ..."

IMHO, it will not be filled until another fighter has its legs (range) and until that fighter can carry a new missile to make up for the loss of the AIM-54, thePhoenix. We are giving up hundreds of miles in carrier air defense without the combination of these two stalwarts, or something to replace them. The Super Hornet is good, and the AMRAAM is good...but togther they simply do not have the range of the Tomcat and Phoenix and that buffer is critical in fleet air defense.

The idea is to keep the enemy attack aircraft and their long range air to surface missiles out of any envelope where they get close enough to launch those missiles. They need to be splashed, if at all possible, beofre they get within launch range. The Tomcat/Phoneix combination helped ensure that better, IMHO, that todays Super Hornet/AMRAAM combo.

Just my opinion.

[Paul Ross]

The Super Hornet is good, and the AMRAAM is good...but togther they simply do not have the range of the Tomcat and Phoenix and that buffer is critical in fleet air defense.

It is also Frank Gaffney's opinion, and I believe was the late Admiral Thomas Moorer's...an architect of much of our overall Fleet strategies and structure.

Dick Cheney was the one who, in 1991 as then Secretary of Defense, ordered the destruction of the tooling that was kept to make F-14's. [ Particularly the titanium wing box...which was more art than science to arrive at. ] He also ordered the destruction of the SR-71 tooling, I believe. His theory on both planes was...that we won't need them again...and no one else in the world will ever be able to make anything like them...so we can afford to do without.

I'm afraid his view has been pre-eminent as between who persuades GWB as between him and Rumsfeld.

[Jeff Head]

Too many people buy into this..."the cold war is over, therefore that kind of threat is over".

All they while the Chinese are buying and improving on all of that Soviet cold war hardware and adopting similar scenarios and plans for assaulting our carrier task forces. And they are developing the economy and the manufacturing base to produce them in large numbers. The Moskit missile, either sea-launched or air launched, is a potnent threat, among others.

As you know, my Dragon's Fury Series was written, in part, to address what I believe to be the falacy of such "the cold war is over" thinking.

[Little Ray]

Too many people look at just the range of the Phoenix missile. Range ain't everying. The Phoenix was conceived for killing bombers, not enemy fighters. For that purpose the AMRAAM is a far better tool.

[Jeff Head]

The Phoenix was also capable against fighters. In the environment they would be up against, heavy jamming, long range missile exchange, etc...they would have very little time to evade when the AIM-54 came down on them.

But, the danger of attack aircraft coming at the battle group with long range ASMs still exists. When they do, short of jetisoning their heavy missiles, those attack aircraft will not be real nimble, and a weapon with the range of the Phoneix and its speed is still, IMHO, of critical importance for the reasons I stated above.

[Paul Ross]

The F-14/Phoenix system also proves to be the only currently effective counter-measure to the supersonic cruise missiles that the Russians have been supplying their 'partners' with. Notably among them the Red Chinese...

The F18/AMRAAM combo apparently can't do this effectively.

[VOA]

bump

[mcgiver38]

Here is a great video of the F-14.....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7069648842128183770