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A Look At Why The Grumman F-14 Tomcat Is The Most Iconic American Fighter Jet Ever

F-14 Tomcat
January 20, 2017

Since the very beginning, the Tomcat had some big shoes to fill. Created to replace the F-4 Phantom II fighter, it was developed for the U.S. Navy’s Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the F-111B project. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was the first of the American teen-series fighters, which were designed to incorporate air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.

An American supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft, the Tomcat was the U.S. Navy’s premier fighter jet. The F-14 was designed as both an air superiority fighter and a long-range naval interceptor to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions.

Now retired, the F-14 was capable of tracking up to 24 targets simultaneously with its advanced weapons control system and attacking six with Phoenix AIM-54A missiles while continuing to scan the airspace. Armament also includes a mix of other air intercept missiles, rockets and bombs. Like many worthy military components, the F-14 was successful in the battlefield but little known outside of it. Until Top Gun. The rest is history. This video attempts to address the phenomenon that the F-14 Tomcat became.