U.S Navy Top Gun F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War. The F-14 first flew on 21 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 aerial reconnaissance platform into the 2000s. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system was added in the 1990s and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions.[1] The Tomcat was retired by U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Several retired F-14s have been put on display across the US. Having been exported to Iran under the Pahlavi dynasty in 1976, F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War. Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war (only 55 of these confirmed, according to historian Tom Cooper),[2] while 16 Tomcats were lost, including seven losses to accidents.[2][3] As of 2022, the F-14 remains in service with Iran's air force, though in low numbers of combat-ready aircraft due to a lack of spare parts. The F-14 began replacing the F-4 Phantom II in U.S. Navy service starting in September 1974 with squadrons VF-1 "Wolfpack" and VF-2 "Bounty Hunters" aboard USS Enterprise and participated in the American withdrawal from Saigon. The F-14 had its first kills in U.S. Navy service on 19 August 1981 over the Gulf of Sidra in what is known as the Gulf of Sidra incident. In that engagement, two F-14s from VF-41 Black Aces were engaged by two Libyan Su-22 "Fitters". The F-14s evaded the Libyan missile and returned fire, downing both Libyan aircraft with AIM-9L Sidewinders.[66] U.S. Navy F-14s once again were pitted against Libyan aircraft on 4 January 1989, when two F-14s from VF-32 shot down two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" over the Gulf of Sidra in a second Gulf of Sidra incident.[67] Its first sustained combat use was as a photo reconnaissance platform. The Tomcat was selected to inherit the reconnaissance mission upon the departure of the dedicated North American RA-5C Vigilante and Vought RF-8G Crusaders from the fleet. A large pod called the Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) was developed and fielded on the Tomcat in 1981. With the retirement of the last RF-8G Crusaders in 1982, TARPS F-14s became the U.S. Navy's primary tactical reconnaissance system.[68] One of two Tomcat squadrons per airwing was designated as a TARPS unit and received 3 TARPS capable aircraft. While the Tomcat was being used by Iran in combat against Iraq in its intended air superiority mission in the early 1980s, the U.S. Navy found itself flying regular daily combat missions over Lebanon to photograph activity in the Bekaa Valley. At the time, the Tomcat had been thought too large and vulnerable to be used over land, but the need for imagery was so great that Tomcat aircrews developed high-speed medium altitude tactics to deal with considerable AAA and SA-7 SAM threat in the Bekaa area. The first exposure of a Navy Tomcat to an SA-2 missile was over Somalia in April 1983 when a local battery was unaware of two Tomcats scheduled for a TARPS mission in a prelude to an upcoming international exercise in the vicinity of Berbera. An SA-2 was fired at the second Tomcat while conducting 10,000 ft (3,000 m) mapping profile at max conserve setting. The Tomcat aircrews spotted the missile launch and dove for the deck thereby evading it without damage. The unexpected demand for combat TARPS laid the way for high altitude sensors such as the KA-93 Long#God #Jesus #Faith #american #vietnam #war #support #usa #thankyouforyourservice #veterans #army #navy #marines #usaf #pilot #extreme #jet #fighterjet #airplane #foryou #technology #entrepeneur #godblessamerica #tripadvisor #travel #military #aviation #airshow #museum #helicopter #helicopteros #helicopterpilot #foryou #mybloopers #youtubeshorts #love #texas #houston #california #sandiego #turbine #photography #history #sf #2023 #strong #aviones #f22 #f22raptor #specialforces #ai #artificial #b25 #bomber #twinengine #nasa #robot #elonmusk #astronaut #universe #science #thunderbirds #f16 #topgun #maverick #blueangels #f18superhornet #supersonic #trendingsong #trending #trend #reels #tiktok #trendingvideo #trendingreels #russia #ukraine #china #shorts #trendingshorts #top #science #technology