The F-14 Tomcat program was initiated when it became obvious that the weight and maneuverability issues plaguing the U.S. Navy variant of the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) (F-111B) would not be resolved to the Navy's satisfaction. The Navy requirement was for a fleet air defense fighter (FADF) with the primary role of intercepting Soviet bombers before they could launch missiles against the carrier group. The Navy also wanted the aircraft to possess inherent air superiority characteristics. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX, which incorporated the Air Force's requirements for a low-level attack aircraft, fearing the compromises would cripple the aircraft, but were forced to participate in the program at direction of then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who wanted "joint" solutions to the service aircraft needs to reduce developmental costs. The prior example of the F-4 Phantom which was a Navy program later adopted by the USAF (under similar direction) was the order of the day. Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, DCNO for Air Warfare took the developmental F-111A for a flight and discovered it was unable to go supersonic and had poor landing characteristics. He later testified to Congress about his concerns against the official Department of the Navy position and in May 1968, Congress killed funding for the F-111B allowing the Navy to pursue an answer tailored to their requirements.

NAVAIR shortly issued an RFP for the Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX), a tandem two-seat fighter with maximum speed of Mach 2.2 and a secondary close air support role. Of the five companies that submitted bids (four of which incorporated variable-geometry wings as on the F-111), McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968, and Grumman won the contract in January 1969. Grumman had been a partner on the F-111B, and had started work on an alternative when they saw the project heading south, and so had an edge on its competitors. Their early design mock-ups and cost projections were floated among Navy brass as an alternative to the F-111B.

The winning Grumman design reused the TF30 engines from the F-111B, though the Navy planned on replacing them with the F401-PW-400 engines then under development by Pratt and Whitney for the Navy (in parallel with the related F100 for the USAF). Though lighter than the F-111B, it was still the largest and heaviest U.S. fighter to ever fly from an aircraft carrier, its size a consequence of the requirement to carry the large AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, also from the F-111B and an internal fuel load of 16,000 lbs (7300 kg). The F-14 would also share a similar inlet duct, wing, and landing gear geometry with Grumman's A-6 Intruder.

The F-14 first flew on December 21st, 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract, and reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1973. While the Marine Corps was interested in the F-14 and went so far as to send pilots to VF-124 to train as instructors, they were never fully sold on the aircraft and pulled out when the stores management system for ground attack munitions was left undeveloped, leaving the aircraft incapable of dropping air-to-ground munitions (these were later developed in the 1990s).

Pictured here is a stunning 1:72 scale diecast replica of an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force F-14A Tomcat Fleet Defense Fighter. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: August 2022

Historical Account: "For the Shah" - Before the Islamic Revolution the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi arranged to arm the Iranian Air Force with 80 Grumman F-14A Tomcats and 714 AIM-54 Phoenix missiles in a deal of US $2 billion, out of which 274 were delivered for US$150 million, 150 embargoed after the 1979 revolution and the additional 290 cancelled. in the 1970s Iran looked for an air superiority fighter to counter Soviet air incursions of MiG-25 fighters. In October 1978, two IIAF F-14As intercepted a high-and-fast-flying Soviet MiG-25 over the Caspian sea tracking it for two minutes and forcing it to abort a reconnaissance run over Iran.

By September 1980, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) managed to make an increasing number of air frames operational, despite immense problems due to repeated purges of its officers. Some of those officers were executed; others were imprisoned, forced into exile, or forced to take early retirement. The IRIAF survived these times, and its Tomcats were to become involved in the war against Iraq, scoring their first kill on September 7th, 1980.

There is limited information available about the service of F-14s in the Iran-Iraq War. Western intelligence indicates that the IRIAF was in decline at the onset of the war in September 1980, and it is rumored that some level of sabotage was committed on the F-14s by either Americans or Iranians loyal to the Shah, during the Iranian Revolution. Following the overthrow of the Shah, most Iranian F-14 pilots and technicians trained in the United States fled from Iran, fearing their association with the Shah's regime, and their time in the United States would endanger them. Only two pilots out of the original flight class chose to remain in Iran. Their fears proved correct, and many of the original Iranian F-14 crews and technicians who remained were jailed or executed by the new regime. Eventually, several jailed F-14 pilots were released when war broke out with Iraq.

The United States estimated that the IRIAF was able to keep between 15 and 20 F-14s operational by cannibalizing parts from other examples. The IRIAF claims a higher figure, and was able to assemble 25 aircraft for an February 11th, 1985, fly-over of Tehran. Despite the U.S embargo following the Islamic Revolution, Iran was able to acquire parts for its F-14, these came via the Iran-Contra arms deal, collusion with Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.