TLDR20
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How did it change? Adding JDAMS in 2002, and retiring in 2006?
It's most feared weapon was fired 2-3 times and never hit anything.
Nice article about the last flight of the F-14
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How did it change? Adding JDAMS in 2002, and retiring in 2006?
It's most feared weapon was fired 2-3 times and never hit anything.
Devildoc
Verified Military
Well, yes. It wasn't built for CAS, but it did. That it did so for a couple years is irrelevant. RE: the Phoenix missile, the deterrence factor alone made the Soviets change doctrine. That ot never fired a weapon actually proved its worth.
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Fact: Iran's Air Force Flies American-Made F-14 Tomcats
I guess we should all just go backpacking through Iran to look for some Tomcats.
I guess we should all just go backpacking through Iran to look for some Tomcats.
The -14 changed towards the end of its life cycle and a number of changes were driven by retiring airframes. RA-5's and later F-8's handled reconnaissance, but with their departure the TARPS pod was specifically developed for the -14. Bombs weren't dropped until '01 or '02, but some of that was to give the -14 an additional capability (plus the range on the -18's sucks). The loss of the A-6 in the late 90's transferred the deep strike role to the F-14. When it the -14 left the fleet in '06 it could do just about everything, minus SEAD and EW.
The -14's biggest drawback was maintenance. It was a beast to maintain and costly compared to the F-18. The -18 came from the YF-17 developed to compete for the USAF's lightweight fighter contract; that went to the F-16. The -18 was reworked a bit to give it longer legs and "navalize" the airframe, but it remained (and still does to a certain extent) a short range strike aircraft. IN killing the -14 and A-6, the Navy standardized a lot of its maintenance and logistics requirements, but at the cost of range and organic tanker support. The KA-6D performed that role until it was retired and while the -18 carries buddy stores, but still suffers from short range. Everything has a tradeoff and to be honest, minus the tanker and range issue I think the Navy did the right thing.
The Growler EW variant is a beast, but development, like just about everything Mil-related, took longer than expected. It gives the fleet a common airframe which means a strike package is built around a common airspeed and fuel radius. With the AF carrying a probe and drogue on its tankers, some of the range issues would be negated in a full-on war. Launch, tank from the AF, and then use buddy stores to tank enroute or upon the Alpha Strike's return.
The -18's a good call and I'll be real surprised if the Navy goes to an all F-35 air wing.
I think the USAF is missing the boat by not replacing the F-15E fleet with the Silent Eagle variant.
The -14's biggest drawback was maintenance. It was a beast to maintain and costly compared to the F-18. The -18 came from the YF-17 developed to compete for the USAF's lightweight fighter contract; that went to the F-16. The -18 was reworked a bit to give it longer legs and "navalize" the airframe, but it remained (and still does to a certain extent) a short range strike aircraft. IN killing the -14 and A-6, the Navy standardized a lot of its maintenance and logistics requirements, but at the cost of range and organic tanker support. The KA-6D performed that role until it was retired and while the -18 carries buddy stores, but still suffers from short range. Everything has a tradeoff and to be honest, minus the tanker and range issue I think the Navy did the right thing.
The Growler EW variant is a beast, but development, like just about everything Mil-related, took longer than expected. It gives the fleet a common airframe which means a strike package is built around a common airspeed and fuel radius. With the AF carrying a probe and drogue on its tankers, some of the range issues would be negated in a full-on war. Launch, tank from the AF, and then use buddy stores to tank enroute or upon the Alpha Strike's return.
The -18's a good call and I'll be real surprised if the Navy goes to an all F-35 air wing.
I think the USAF is missing the boat by not replacing the F-15E fleet with the Silent Eagle variant.
