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F-14 Tomcat

The F-14 is the US navy's multi-role strike fighter, which was designed to perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground strikes and can be used for reconnaissance. The Northrop Grumman developed the F-14. The primary goal of the F-14 project was to develop a multi-role fighter to replace the USN's aging fleet of F-4 "Phantom". The F-14 entered service in 1972. Since then many variants of the F-14 have been developed for the US navy which is equipped with better systems than the previous designs. The latest model of the F-14 is the F-14D "Super Tomcat" which is better than the earlier models in terms of avionics, weapons and radar. The F-14 will remain as one of the frontline strike fighters of the USN till 2007 it is likely to be replaced by the JSF fighters which are being developed at present.

Design

The F-14 features the variable sweep wings which sweep back when the plane is flying at speeds above Mach 1. This design gives the Tomcat a distinctive appearance. The wings can be retracted to an angle of 75 degrees during storage of the Tomcat.

Engines

The F-14 is fitted with two GE F110-GE-400 turbofan engines. These engines produce a thrust of 72 kN and 120 in afterburners. The F-14 carries 9000 l of fuels in its 5 internal fuel tanks.

Cockpit

The F-14 has undergone a series of upgradations which in include the introduction of night vision goggles. The night vision goggles in the F-14 are supplied by the BAE systems in England. The F-14 has a total of 5 MFD which are kept in the pilots and the radar intercept officers cockpits. Some of the other upgrades include the introduction of the NACES zero to zero ejection seat which allows the pilot or the radar intercept officer to eject even when the plane is at zero altitude. There is also a FV-300 Modular Mission Display System which is used to improve the reliability of the night vision device.

Weapons


The F-14 carries a vast array of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons which include air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles and different kinds of bombs. The F-14 has a total of eight hard points which allows it to carry a huge number of ordinance.

The F-14 carries short range missiles like the AIM-9, medium range missiles like AIM-7 and long range missiles like the AIM-54. The F-14 is capable of carrying the maximum number of AIM-54 "Phoenix" missiles which is regarded as the missiles with the longest range in the world. The multi target engagement system in the F-14 allows it to fire all its Phoenix missiles simultaneously at six different targets.

The F-14 is equipped with a LANTRIN system which is used for the guidance of laser guided bombs. The LANTRIN for the F-14 was developed by the Lockheed Martin. The LANTRIN is equipped with a FLIR system and a laser range finder.

The air to ground weapons in the F-14 include different kinds of guided and unguided bombs. The F-14 also carries CBU cluster bombs and anti-ship missiles. This plane also carries missiles like the Maverick and HARM. The F-14 is also fitted with a M61A-1 20 mm GE Vulcan cannon which is similar to the ones used by most of the combat aircrafts in the US armed forces. This gun carries 657 rounds of ammo.

Countermeasures

The F-14 is equipped with a AN/ALE-39 and AN/ALE-29 counter measure dispenser. These countermeasure dispensers release chaffs and flares when a missiles is fires at it. Some of the latest versions of the F-14 is equipped with early warning systems and jammers.

Avionics

This plane is equipped with a AN/APG-71 radar developed by Raytheon which is a multi-mode radar. The F-14 also carries a reconnaissance pod which is fitted with a large number of cameras and sensors to gather information about enemy positions.

Technical Specifications
Maximum speed	Mach 1.9
Cruise speed	Mach 0.7
Range	3000 km
Length	19.1 m
Height	4.88 m
Wingspan	extended - 19.5m Swept - 11.6m