FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
Making lots of noise and going very fast!
F-14
- Thread starter cheddar cheese
- Start date
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Making lots of noise and going very fast!
LOL 
HealzDevo
Staff Sergeant
I thought that there was one showing an F-14 Tomcat being escorted by two Mig-17 Frescos (I might have the wrong aircraft and they might be fishbeds). Interesting picture all the same that one.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
HealzDevo said:
They are actually late-model Mig-21s of the Croation AF.
Glider
Captain
Now here's an answer to the Australian problem mentioned in the SU27 thread. Second hand F14's.
Expensive to maintain probably but cheap to buy. If the Iranian's could keep a few flying I am sure the RAAF should be able to.
Expensive to maintain probably but cheap to buy. If the Iranian's could keep a few flying I am sure the RAAF should be able to.
I dont think the Iranians have been able to keep theres flying. The US has not sold them any spare parts to them to keep them up.
marconi
Airman 1st Class
What plane will be the replacement for F-14?
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
i believe it will be the F/A-18 until the F35 enters service............
Glider
Captain
Derald. I certainly could be wrong but my understanding was that by cannabalising others they were able to keep some in the air and they mainly used them for their radar, not for air to air combat.
The Phoenix missiles would be well past their sell by date.
The Phoenix missiles would be well past their sell by date.
You could be right, but did the US sell Pheonix's to the Iranians also. That I doubt.
Glider
Captain
I am pretty sure they did. At the time Iran was a major arms buyer and the number of F14's was quite significant in the 70's if I remember.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Yes they did!
BlackWolf3945
Banned
When all is said and done, the VF squadrons will have converted to the F/A-18E/F... mostly the Foxtrot. As of right now only one VF unit has converted to the F/A-18E... VF-14, now VFA-14. But the SuperBugs will not be able to match the F-14 pound for pound. They have shorter range than the F-14 and they certainly aren't as fast. The F-14 was obviously designed for air to air and was made to have a long reach and to hit hard so as to help counter the Russkie bomber threat.marconi said:
The Super Bugs can hit hard but their reach isn't even close to that of the F-14. Although in this day of reduced far-reaching threats and advanced technology in air to air weapons systems, you don't really need to shoot at something that's a couple hundred miles away anymore. The days of bear hunting are long gone and over the course of the last decade the F-14 has been used for moving mud more than anything else.
On that note, check this out...
Special Forces And Tomcats Teamed Up For Classified Missions In Iraq
An interesting fact that many folks don't know is that all F-14s were built with the capability to carry and employ air to ground weapons, albeit nothing more sophisticated than 'dumb' iron bombs. 'Twas only with the reduced threat from the Soviet bomber fleet that the 'Bombcat' came into being.
Nevertheless, there really is no 'proper' replacement for the F-14.
The JSF doesn't come into the picture at all so far as the F-14 is concerned. The JSF is meant to replace the original F/A-18s, called 'Legacy Hornets' by some folks.the lancaster kicks ass said:
DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
This should answer that question...
From what I understand they ran out of AIM-54s in the mid 80s. There have been stories about the Iranians adopting the HAWK surface to air missile for use in an air to air role on the F-14. Dunno how true it is and how effective it may have been, but here's a shot of an Ali-Cat with a HAWK mounted on station 8B...
There are also photos of Ali-Cats with another 'big missile' mounted on the shoulder pylons, but I dunno what they are.
For the most part this is a fairly accurate statement. The Iranians have typically had problems keeping more than 10 airframes 'operational'. From what I understand, the situation has improved some with the advancements made in Iran's aerospace industry and around 20 are said to have been 'operational' in recent years. Still, I don't think that too many of the original 79 jets are consistently airworthy and some sources state that these days they can't get more than six or seven jets in the air at once.DerAdlerIstGelandet said:
Fade to Black...
Glider
Captain
Whilst I don't agree with the politics or aims of the Iranian goverment, you have to take your hats off to the engineers who can keep such a complex aircraft in the air over such a period without any support. It isn't as if they had much of an aerospace industry to start with.
It also isn't fair to blame the USA for selling them anything. We were happy enough to let them buy hundreds of our Cheiftains and Light tanks.
It also isn't fair to blame the USA for selling them anything. We were happy enough to let them buy hundreds of our Cheiftains and Light tanks.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
I've always liked the F-14, but she is getting old - I have Navy friends that tell me she's a b*tch to maintain, spares are getting scarce and operating costs are outrageous when compared to the FA-18.
Thanks for the info BlackWolf3945. I really did not think they would have sold them the Pheonix but oh well shit happens.
evangilder
"Shooter"
Just saw this article this morning on AVweb:
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/464-full.html#190589
evangilder
"Shooter"
Well it is 35 years old! For an air superiority fighter, that's ancient.
