The F-14 Tomcat has been the US Navy's air superiority fighter for the past 30 years.
Following World War II, the model for most navies switched from fleets of heavily armored battleships to compact carrier groups. These carrier groups were dependent on fighter planes for the majority of their offensive and defensive capabilities. The F-14 began filling this role for the US Navy in 1973, and is only now being phased out in favor of the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
In 1968, the US Navy was looking for a new fighter jet to replace its durable F-4 Phantom. The F-111 Aardvark, which replaced the F-4 as the Air Force's primary fighter-bomber proved to heavy and unwieldy for large-scale use on aircraft carriers, and so the F-14 was developed to take its place.
Unlike the F-4 and F-111, the Tomcat was designed exclusively for carrier use, and excelled in that role. It's Hughes AN/AWG-9 radar and tracking systems could monitor up to 24 targets, and could detect large aircraft from up to 100 miles away. The aircraft's original armament was also custom-fit to the purpose of gaining air superiority in a carrier-based naval engagement.
The F-14's "Fire-and-forget" AIM-54 Phoenix Missiles could engage targets from over 100 miles away, while air-to-air Phoenix and Sidewinder missiles, along with a Vulcan 20mm cannon for short-range combat, filled out the rest of its arsenal.
Though large in comparison to previous carrier-based fighters, like the F-8 Corsair and F-4, the F-14 proved to be extremely maneuverable, thanks in part to its easily-recognizable variable geometry wings. These swept back as the plane's speed increased, to allow for optimum maneuverability at any speed. The aircraft is also unique in that its nickname "Tomcat" applied not its producers or pilots, but comes instead from the first name of Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, who was highly critical of attempts to apply the F-111 to carrier use.
The F-14 entered service in 1973 and rapidly proved itself one of the most versatile fighters in the US Armed Forces. In its role as an air superiority fighter, the Tomcat was never once shot down by an enemy fighter. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many F-14's were retrofitted with air-to-ground missiles and the LANTIRN ("Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night") system to participate in combat operations such as Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force (in the former Yugoslavia) and Operation Enduring Freedom (in Afghanistan). Through all their combat sorties, only one American F-14 was ever lost. However, a squadron F-14 used by the Iranians in the Iran-Iraq war is thought to have sustained several losses.
Due in part to its high price tag (around $38 Million per aircraft), the F-14 has had very little success in foreign markets. This, combined with its role in the 1980's film classic "Top Gun" has made the given the F-14 in the image of being a very American fighter. However, the Tomcat's manufacturer, Grumman, felt confident that an updated F-14 would remain the US Navy's air superiority fighter, and ran up their prices. This angered the Department of Defense, which instead chose to buy the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and ordered Grumman to destroy the machinery that produced the Tomcat. By 2008, all Tomcats will be phased out of active service, marking the end of the Tomcat's chapter in military aviation history.
