Iranian F-14s in combat

[Aggie08]

I saw a book with this title, and i was intrigued. I don't know much about the Iran-Iraq War, but apparently the tomcats scared saddam so much he told his pilots to scram if one came around. Does anyone have more info on this subject?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Go to this site, there is a bunch about the IIAF

Air Combat Information Group Forum :: Index

 

[Matt308]

They apparently are still fielding 2 squadrons of F-14s to this day. How is beyond me. Must not get too much flight time is the best I can figure.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

They can only get about 7 in the air at any given time and have canabalized about 35 of them over the last few years.

 

[lesofprimus]

Thats news to me, as of several years ago there were zero in flying condition...

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

They did canabolize a whole lot of them and got a few in the air. Not sure about the Pheonix though. I think all the missles are gone and for that reason they dont have the same capability.

 

[Aggie08]

Boy, their loss. I would have cannibalized everything else to keep those tomcats up. What could possibly be more important than your best fighter??

 

[lesofprimus]

What could possibly be more important than your best fighter??

The Grumman contractors that kept them running...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The Grumman contractors that kept them running...

I met a few ex Grumman and Bell contractors that were stationed in Iran at the time the Shaw fell. Their motto - "I ran from Iran when the shooting began."

BTW - One of my father-in-laws best buddies was over there too during the same time. He was in the USAF and was there as an instructor. The day after the Shaw fell he and a NCO instructor took a T-38 and flew out of there in the middle of the night. I just learned this the other day and hope to be talking to him about this little adventure...

 

[P38 Pilot]

The Grumman contractors that kept them running...

Im glad Grumman stopped...

 

[pbfoot]

But what capabilities of the F14 were they able to reverse engineer with all the well trained Western Engineers to apply to the Abra???? the new Iranian Thing

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Im glad Grumman stopped...

They had no choice..

and now its Northrop-Grumman

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Boy, their loss. I would have cannibalized everything else to keep those tomcats up. What could possibly be more important than your best fighter??

You cant just take parts from any aircraft to make an F-14 work. You have to take from an F-14. That goes for just about every aircraft. Sure there are parts that are interchangable but how are you going to take an engine from an F-5 and put it into an F-14?

 

[Matt308]

I consider AvWeek to be a VERY reliable source. They claim two squadrons in flyable condition. However, I speculate that DerAdler is right in that likely the readiness rate is very low, the flight time is virtually non-existent, and the armaments are likely in the single digits for the F-14. As I noted, they apparently are using them to fill gaps in their ground based radar with the F-14's -9. AvWeek noted that DoD estimates indicated that if any AIM-54s are fielded it is likely only a handful and that the failure rates would be expected to be extremely high for all the others. However, these missiles have a very capable range. They also noted that the A version was susceptible to failure to launch and that was what Iran purchased.

My understanding was that when Grumman pulled out, the contractors implemented a last ditch software change to the Flight Control Computers that effectively grounded every F-14. Apparently this was a well planned contingency for allowing the purchase of such a frontline fighter to Iran. Makes you wonder what other DoD/State Department mandated controls are put into our modern defense sales to other countries. No wonder JSF partners are vying for integral roles in development and maintaining the aircraft. Like GPS, these other countries don't likely appreciate the capability of the US being able to pull the plug on national defense assets. With millions of lines of code, it would be rather easy to hide.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Agreed

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Here's some IIAF F-14 discussion. Some of the posters are from Iran.

Air Combat Information Group Forum :: Log in

 

[Chief]

Is it possible that they altered the Tomcats to be compatible with Iranian Missles?

If so what ones could they and what are their capabilities.

 

[plan_D]

"They did canabolize a whole lot of them and got a few in the air. Not sure about the Pheonix though. I think all the missles are gone and for that reason they dont have the same capability."

The F-14 has never had a combat kill with the Phoenix missile, so the USN and IrAF Tomcats would both be just as deadly. Except the fact USN pilots are far superior in training and flight time.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

And that the USN no longer has any Tomcats anyhow.

 

[Conslaw]

I read the Cooper book several years ago. It's a must for the aviation buff. He certainly is firm in the conviction that Western press reports of grounded Iranian F-14s are highly exaggerated. If Cooper is to be believed, Iranian F-14s shot down more enemy aircraft than all U.S. jets in Vietnam. The cut-off of parts to Iran has resulted in an enhanced avionics industry within Iran. During the Iran-Iraq war, Iran received parts and assistance through Israel with some covert assistance from the U.S. I don't doubt that if it is high enough priority for the Iranians that they can make a significant number of the F-14s combat operational. after all, when the Grumman designed the F-14, they were working with the limitations of 1960s technology. Off-the-shelf electronics might be capable of much more today. The biggest problem with the Cooper book is that he changed the names of his sources to protect them. This makes it impossible to verify his claims.