F-14 Tomcat Wallpapers

F-14 Tomcat Military aircraft, photo wallpapers; Megawallpapers.org : The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a United States Navy supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-seat strike fighter. The Tomcat's primary missions are air superiority, fleet air defense, and precision strike against ground targets. The first F-14 flight was in 1970. The sole foreign customer for the Tomcat was the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) during the reign of the Shah of Iran. A total of 80 aircraft were ordered, but only 79 were delivered, as the last unit was embargoed and turned over to the United States Navy. It has been rumoured that some of the surviving Iranian F-14's are reportedly still operational today, but a lack of spare parts is likely taking a toll on their combat readiness. Also, it should be noted that the amount of real flight time required to maintain any proficiency in the tactical operation of this aircraft is well beyond their ability to retain any real operational effectiveness. The F-14 was developed to take the place of the aborted General Dynamics F-111B (also called the TFX), a navalized version of the U.S. Air Force tactical strike aircraft. Intended to provide fleet air defense, the F-111B proved unmaneuverable, overweight, and, in general, poorly suited to aircraft carrier operations. This led to its cancellation in 1968. Early in development, the Tomcat was already shown to have advantages over the failing F-111B. It was smaller, lighter, and more fuel-efficient than the TFX. Ironically, much of the F-14's equipment was re-used from the TFX, including the AN/AWG-9 radar, AIM-54 Phoenix missile, and the Pratt & Whitney TF30 engines. To facilitate early introduction of the F-14 into service the first version of the aircraft was planned using the engine and weapons system technology from the F-111B, and then progressively introduce new engines and a new weapons system into the new F-14 airframe. Thus, the designation F-14A was assigned to the new aircraft equipped with updated TF-30 engines and the AN/AWG-9 weapons system from the F-111B. The original plan was to only build a few F-14As, as the TF30 was known to be a troublesome engine. In addition, the engine was not designed for fighter-type operations and only put out 74% of the thrust for which the F-14 was designed. An F-14B would follow using the engine from the advanced technology engine competition. The 'B' would then be followed by the F-14C, with a new weapons system replacing the AN/AWG-9. However, the AN/AWG-9 replacement was delayed. When it finally arrived as the AN/APG-71, the designation assigned to the new aircraft was F-14D: the F-14C was never produced. The Tomcat was intended as an uncompromising air superiority fighter and interceptor, charged with defending carrier battle groups against Soviet Navy aircraft armed with cruise missiles. It carried the Hughes AN/AWG-9 long-range radar originally developed for the F-111B, capable of detecting bomber-sized targets at ranges exceeding 160 km (100 miles), tracking 24 targets and engaging six simultaneously. In a now famous test, an F-14 simultaneously shot down five of six target drones. However it has recently been mentioned that the six drones never attempted to employ defensive maneuvers or jamming and thus didn't simulate realistic targets. Originally, the F-14's primary weapon was the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, capable of engaging a target at up to 200 km (120 statute miles), but this was removed from service on 30 September 2004. The F-14 was the only aircraft to carry this weapon, which was designed as an integral part of the Tomcat weapons system. Although it could carry up to six of these large weapons, its heavy weight only enabled the F-14 to land on a carrier with a maximum load of two. Medium-range armament is provided by the AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active radar homing missile, backed by AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared missiles and a single M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon for close-in use. The F-14 was designed with some air-to-ground capability, but this was not explored until late in its career; Tomcats have now been equipped to carry the LANTIRN targeting system for use by laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided weapons. Some F-14's are also equipped to carry the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) pod, giving the Navy what was then its only manned tactical reconnaissance platform. The F-14 was one of the most maneuverable and agile airplanes of its generation. The flat, pancake-like section between the engines acts as an airfoil to provide additional lift, giving the Tomcat an effective wing area about 40% greater than its actual wing dimensions. This results in relatively low effective wing loading. The Tomcat also has a Mach Sweep Programmer (MSP) that automatically adjusts the wing angle for optimum flight performance (the only VG aircraft so equipped � a similar system was tested but not used for the Panavia Tornado ADV), and movable glove vanes that offset the migration of the center of lift rearwards as airspeed increased. Pilots could also manually deploy them for extra assist in turns. However, the benefits were not considered worth the maintenace workload caused by the vanes and they were subsequently removed on later variants. Most variable-geometry aircraft are optimized for fast, low-altitude attack, emphasizing good gust response rather than maneuverability. Despite the Tomcat's considerable size, its agility compares well to many other fighters, although that created problems for the troublesome and unreliable TF30 turbofans, which were subject to compressor stalls in violent maneuvers or high alpha. Once the reliable F110 engines arrived, which also provided the F-14 with the full thrust for which it was designed, the full capability of the aircraft became apparent. The plane accelerates and decelerates very rapidly, and while it can't match it in roll, is said to be able to consistently fight F-16Cs to a draw close in while retaining its speed, endurance and avionics advantages. Although the F-14 is capable of Mach 2.4+, experience has shown that very little time is spent above Mach 2. Despite its agility in the air, the F-14 is notoriously difficult to land on a carrier deck and its service has been marred by numerous landing accidents. The F-14 entered the fleet in 1972, replacing the F-4 Phantom II which was phased out in 1986, and entered operational service with Navy fighter squadrons VF-1 Wolfpack and VF-2 Bounty Hunters aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in September 1974. The F-14B, introduced in November 1987, incorporated the new General Electric F110 engines. In 1995, an upgrade program was initiated to incorporate new digital avionics and weapon system improvements to strengthen its multi-mission competitive edge. The F-14D, delivered in 1990 in reduced numbers, was a major upgrade with F-110 engines, new AN/APG-71 radar system, Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) and Infrared Search and Track (IRST). Additionally, all F-14 variants were given precision strike capability using the LANTIRN targeting system, night vision compatibility, new defensive countermeasures systems and a new digital flight control system. The Tomcat is said to be named for the late Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, whose testimony before the Senate was critical in the cancellation of the deeply-flawed TFX project. Connolly's call sign was "Tomcat," hence the popular name which also conformed with the Navy's tradition of giving feline names to Grumman fighters. In addition, "Tomcat" was first used for the F7F Tigercat in 1943, but was rejected by the navy as being inappropriately suggestive. The Tomcat had only one foreign export sale due to its cost, initial lack of ground attack capacity, and the fact that the US government generally would not allow the export of the aircraft, preferring to champion the F-15. Its one sale made for one of the more colorful events in its history. The United States in the late 1970s supplied F-14s to Iran, only to have them fall into the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the 1979 revolution. The US subsequently cut off tech support for the Iranian Tomcats. For many years it was thought that from that point forward Iran used the fighter primarily as an airborne radar controller, escorted and protected by other fighters, but later information indicates this was incorrect. Given apparent asistance from the Soviet Union, Iran-Contra supplies, cannibalization, back channel acquisition of certain parts, reverse engineering and virtually unlimited supplies of labor, the Iranians were able to keep a number of the aircraft operational. [br]There are reports that the aircraft was used extensively in the Iran-Iraq War and some claim it achieved over 100 kills. Although information received about that war is notably sketchy and some sources may be suspect, a phenomenon from the early part of the Gulf War tends to lend some credibility to these claims. In the Gulf War, F-14s were used primarily for strike package escort and reconnaissance due to the way the Air Tasking Orders were set up. The emissions from the AWG-9 are instantly recognizable, due to its very powerful transmitter (retained for the APG-71). When Iraqi fighters were detected inbound, as soon as the Tomcats "lighted up", the Iraqis would immediately abandon the attack while well out of range, perhaps indicating their familiarity with both the Tomcat and the AIM-54. Some rumors suggest that a few of the AIM-54 Phoenix missiles supplied to Iran before the revolution were sold to the Soviet Union, where they may have strongly influenced the development of the similar Vympel AA-9 'Amos' long-range missile. In return, the Soviets may have assisted in returning the Phoenix to service in Iran. Furthermore, an attempt was made to adapt the MIM-23 HAWK surface-to-air defence missiles that were also a carryover from the pre-revolution period to be used as air-to-air missiles for the F-14, but this proved unsuccessful. [br]General characteristics: [br]Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer) [br]Capacity Air Superiority / Fighter Interceptor [br]Length: 18.6 m (61 ft 9 in) [br]Wingspan: 19 m (64 ft) unswept, 11.4 m (38 ft) swept [br]Height: 16 ft (4.8 m) [br]Wing area: 565 ft� (54.5 m�) [br]Empty: 19,000 kg (42,000 lb) [br]Loaded: 28,000 kg (61,000 lb) [br]Maximum takeoff: 32,805 kg (72,900 lb) [br]Powerplant: [br]F-14A: 2x Pratt & Whitney TF-30P-414A turbofans, 12,285 lbf (68 kN) installed thrust at sea level, 20,000 lbf (93 kN) installed thrust at sea level with afterburner [br]F-14B/D: 2x General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofans, 13,810 lbf (72 kN) installed thrust at sea-level, 24,000 lbf (117 kN) installed thrust with afterburner at sea-level [br]Performance: [br]Maximum speed: 1,544 mph (2,485 km/h) Mach 2.34 [br]Combat radius: 576 miles (927 km) [br]Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (16,000+ m) [br]Rate of climb: F-14A: 30,000 ft/min (9,145 m/min); F-14B/D: 45,000+ ft/min (13715+ m/min) [br]Wing loading: 113.4 lb/ft� (553.9 kg/m�) [br]Thrust/weight: F-14A: 0.72 lbf/lb (7.1 N/kg); F-14B/D: 0.88lbf/lb (8.7 N/kg) [br][edit] [br]Avionics: F-14A/B Hughes AN/AWG-9 Radar; F-14D Hughes AN/APG-71 Radar. 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