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United States Navy Pilot Lieutenant Commander David Burnham and Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lieutenant Commander Bruce Defibaugh attached to Fighter Squadron Two (VF-2), bring their [transonic] F-14D "Super Tomcat" through the sound barrier during an air-power demonstration with USS Constellation (CV 64) battlegroup on 10 July 1999. Large or medium photo via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20040818.htm (photo 10). Image ID: 990710-N-6483G-001 PhotographerEnsign John Gay, United States Navy

Iranian F-14s Fly Again January 31, 2008: The U.S. has now forbidden the sale of any F-14 aircraft components. This is to prevent Iran from getting any parts with which to keep its dwindling fleet of F-14s operational. All surplus F-14s, and F-14 components, must be destroyed. The U.S. Navy has been doing that, since last year, to the retired F-14s it has. It is believed that Iran has restored at least three of its three-decade old F-14A jets to operational status. More F-14As are to be restored this year. There is, however, the matter of credibility and capability. For...

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed legislation Monday prohibiting the Pentagon from selling leftover F-14 fighter jet parts, a move prompted by security gaps in the military's surplus auction. Those gaps made the surplus auction a prime place for Iran to shop for the spares it desperately needs for its Tomcat fleet. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., proposed the ban after The Associated Press reported last year that buyers for Iran, China and other countries exploited weaknesses in Pentagon surplus-sale security to obtain sensitive military equipment including parts for F-14s and other aircraft and for missile components....

Iran upgrading its U.S. F-14s, testing GPS-guided smart bombs LONDON — Iran says it has succeeded both in restoring its F-14 fighter-jet fleet to operational service and in developing its own GPS-guided smart bomb. Industry sources said Iranian defense firms have been overhauling and upgrading F-14A fighter-jets. They said the Defense Ministry has overseen a serial production line for F-14 overhaul. The ministry has administered a project by the state-owned Iranian Aircraft Industries Complex to enhance the F-14As, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said the project began in 2007, and since May three F-14As were upgraded. In 1972, Iran...

A mechanical monster grabs the F-14 fighter jet and chews through one wing and then another, ripping off the Tomcat's appendages before moving on to its guts. Finally, all that's left is a pile of shredded rubble — like the scraps from a Thanksgiving turkey. Within a workday, a $38 million fighter jet that once soared as a showpiece of U.S. air power can be destroyed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, home to the military's "boneyard" for retired aircraft. The Pentagon is paying a contractor at least $900,000 to destroy old F-14s, a jet affectionately nicknamed "the turkey," rather than...

Federal agents seized four F-14 Tomcat fighters in San Bernardino County on Tuesday — three from airplane museums — after investigators determined that the jets were not demilitarized and were improperly sold or transferred to private companies, including the producer of the TV show "JAG," authorities said. When the jets were retired in the mid-1990s at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu, Navy officials failed to ensure that the aircraft were stripped of military hardware, according to a court affidavit filed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Three of the fighter jets then were sold, in "unauthorized...

With the final retirement of the Tomcat in the fall of last year, no airworthy examples of Grumman’s ultimate ‘Cold War’ fighter now remain in active service with the US Navy. However, some 70 plus airframes are on display at various museums in 25 states from Florida in the southeast to Washington in the northwest -- and Hawaii is due to receive an ex-VF-31 jet in 2007. Yet despite the F-14 performing on a global stage for more than 30 years, the only Tomcats to be found outside of the USA are the 44 A-models currently operated by the Islamic...

Awesome, beautiful view of twenty-two U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters with Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW-8) flying in formation -- "The Wedge Formation" -- over NAS Oceana on 10 March 2006. Photographer: Paul Tiller, http://www.outermarker.co.uk The Story and More CVW-8 Homecoming Photos by Paul Tiller "The Last Cat home... is not a pussy!" (http://www.outermarker.co.uk/Articles/CVW8/cvw8.htm)http://www.outermarker.co.uk/Articles/CVW8/cvw8a.htm (photo gallery)

060115-N-7571S-002 Persian Gulf, 15 January 2006 - An F-14D Tomcat assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) sits parked on the flight deck aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Photographer Lithographer's Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder, United States Navy Viahttp://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=31253http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060115-N-7571S-002.jpg

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The F-14 Tomcat, the dogfighting Cold War fighter jet immortalized in the movie "Top Gun," made its ceremonial final flight Friday in a display that suggested the timing was right for retirement. Pilot Lt. Cmdr. David Faehnle and radar intercept officer Lt. Cmdr. Robert Gentry gave a final salute from inside their cockpit before aircraft no. 102 taxied down the runway and out of sight at Oceana Naval Air Station. The plane that actually took off as thousands applauded and whistled, however, was aircraft no. 107, with Lt. Cmdr. Chris Richard at the controls and intercept...

CNN Pipeline #4 showing live feed of last USN F-14 Tomcat flight. Crew is turning on engines now.

The Tomcat Sunset Committee is a nonprofit, nonfederal entity established to plan and execute the farewell ceremonies for the F-14 Tomcat in September, 2006. The Committee is chaired by Rear Admiral Fred Lewis, USN (Ret) and includes retired military and industry representatives associated with the Tomcat legacy. snip Ratheon and Northrop Grumman are the main sponsors of this event. See the website for details. Here's an awesome video of the Tomcat Goodbye to a great aircraft!

Iran's Mix-and-Match Air Force Still May Have Bite Aviation Week & Space Technology 09/11/2006 Authors: Douglas Barrie and Andy Nativi Israel's 1981 strike against Iraq's Osirak nuclear site was achieved without loss of any aircraft. But it is far from guaranteed that an attack intended to degrade any Iranian nuclear weapons program would have the same outcome. The Iranian air force inventory is a mix of Western, Russian and Chinese combat aircraft--most of them obsolescent. Any spares for Western aircraft will have to be bought surreptitiously, or be work-arounds found using local technology because an arms embargo remains in place....

Photo #1: 060728-N-7241L-026 Atlantic Ocean (July 28, 2006) - An F-14D Tomcat, aircraft number 100, assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) makes a near supersonic fly-by above the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The F-14 will officially retire in September 2006, after 32 years of service to the fleet. Theodore Roosevelt is completing Joint Task Force Exercises with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Laird (RELEASED). Caption Source: http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=37555 - Big Image Link: http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060728-N-7241L-026.jpg Photo #2: 060728-N-7241L-015 Atlantic Ocean (July 28, 2006)...

Awesome video of a truly awesome jet! F-14 Video

<p>The Navy's last two squadrons of F-14 Tomcats are heading home, ending the final combat deployment of the Cold War-era fighter jet. The Tomcats will be replaced by F/A-18 Super Hornets.</p>

051216-N-9362D-001 Persian Gulf (Dec. 16, 2005) - Commander Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), Capt. Bill Sizemore makes his 10,000th trap aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Sizemore was piloting an F-14D Tomcat assigned to the "Blacklions" of Fighter Squadron Two One Three (VF-213). Roosevelt and embarked CVW-8 are underway on a regularly scheduled deployment conducting maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Randall Damm (RELEASED)

". . . The True Tomcat Believers still couldn't quite bring themselves to accept that this was the last time they would see their favorite aircraft on display, but indeed this demonstration ship departed from Oceana on the day after the airshow, on its way to the Castle Air Museum in California." The Linkhttp://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Oceana2005/Highlights

An F-14 Tomcat fighter jet was set in place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Monday in ceremonies marking an important milestone in construction of the Air Force One Pavilion, which is expected to open in the fall. Addressing a crowd of hundreds of guests, Rear Adm. David J. Venlet said the Air Force One exhibit and others at the library and museum tell the story of President Reagan's legacy. "It does a great job of highlighting the military's impact in the defense of freedom," said Venlet, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the Gulf...

United States Navy (USN) F-14B Tomcat assigned to the "Swordsmen" of Fighter Squadron Three Two (VF-32)with its stylish Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud on March 30, 2005 in the Mediterranean Sea. The PhotographerPhotographer's Mate 3rd Class Justin S. Osborne, USNThe SourceNavy NewsStand - Eye on the Fleet Photo Gallery, USNhttp://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=23503, USN Image ID: 050330-N-0382O-503 The Big Image Linkhttp://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/050330-N-0382O-503.jpg

The title of the Big-Boys.com piece is "I Gotta Get Me One of These!" If you're into airplanes at all, one look at the video for this 6' long jet-powered F-14 Tomcat in full test-flight mode will have you uttering similar sentiments. http://www.big-boys.com/articles/f14model.html This is AWESOME!

Farewell and welcome on Oceana's runways The Virginian-Pilot © April 8, 2005 Few sights compare to that of an F-14 Tomcat soaring through the blue sky above Virginia Beach. Residents and tourists alike delight in glimpsing the jets wheeling and plummeting over the ocean, or rocketing full tilt from the NAS Oceana runways, their distinctive delta-winged shape more reminiscent of a sci-fi fighter plane than a U.S. Navy workhorse. The F-14's grace and elegant design almost always elicit a pause, a sigh, a pointed finger or a sense of wonder at how a triangle can fly. The Tomcat is an...

Now this message for America's most famous athletes: Someday you may be invited to fly in the backseat of one of your country's most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have -- John Elway, John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity, let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity.... Move to Guam. Change your name. Fake your own death. Whatever you do, do not go. I know. The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped. I was toast! I should've known when they told me my pilot...

An F-14 "Tomcat" fighter jet assigned to the "Jolly Rogers" of Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VF-103), September 26, 2002, United States Navy. Photographer: Journalist 2nd Class David Valdez, United States Navy Original U.S. Navy source: http://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=2827 (has more information) and http://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/020926-N-2781V-170.jpg (big image) Above photo from: Dr. Mark S. Cramer's "Gallery of Fluid Mechanics" WWW site (http://GalleryofFluidMechanics.com), the Prandtl-Glauert Gallery (An Eerie Condensation Cloud), http://www.GalleryOfFluidMechanics.com/conden/eerief14.htm and http://www.GalleryOfFluidMechanics.com/conden/ef14b.htmPhoto caption from: ChamorroBible.org WWW site's "Photograph of the Day" for August 17, 2004 (Part 1 of 2, photo #5), http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20040817.htmExplanation for this scary Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud: "P-G Clouds" tutorial by Dr....

    Official U.S. Navy file photo of an F-14D Tomcat assigned to Fighter Squadron (VF) 31. The return of the squadron marks the final deployment of the F-14 Tomcat to the Pacific Coast. View Larger Download HiRes   Tomcatters Return from Pacific DeploymentStory Number: NNS041029-01Release Date: 10/29/2004 7:24:00 AMFrom Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public AffairsNORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron (VF) 31 will return to their home base at Naval Air Station Oceana Oct. 31, following a five-month deployment to the Western Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN...

Navy Retires AIM-54 Phoenix Missile For media backgrounder and chronology of events visit http://pao.navair.navy.mil/Press_Releases/ Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft, NAVAIR, Patuxent River, MD After 30 years of highly accomplished service, the U.S. Navy is retiring its first long-range air-to-air missile, the AIM-54 Phoenix. The U.S. Navy’s F-14 Tomcat is the only operational aircraft that carried the Phoenix missile. "As we retire the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, we pay tribute to the men and women of Naval Aviation, Grumman and Hughes who designed, tested and operationally employed the Phoenix for over 30 years. Since the earliest days of carrier aviation, air...

The Virginian-Pilot © September 13, 2004 Last updated: 8:56 AM Cmdr. Dave “Mongo” Koss checks an F/A-18 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. Photos by Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot. VIRGINIA BEACH — The Navy has long stressed training the way it fights. But at Oceana Naval Air Station, that is no longer the case. It has been years since the base’s Navy pilots have been able to practice like they fight, and the gulf between the two is growing. The reason: jet noise. The chief purpose of Oceana, the Navy’s East Coast master jet base, is to train...

PZL Swidnik'd deal with U.S. army PZL Swidnik signed a 275 thousand dollar deal with the U.S. Navy. Polish aircraft plant will deliver parts to upgrade U.S. F-14 Tomcat aircraft carrier-based combat planes. As was announced on a press conference in Swidnik the contract was signed on July 30. Under the deal, the Polish aircraft plant will produce Tomcat fuselage elements. The first delivery is expected early next year. This is the first contract signed by the U.S. army with a former Soviet block plant. "It is significant as we are making the first step on the huge market of...

- Ens. Manuel Sanchez, VX-30 maintenance material control officer, recently made history by being the last Navy F-14 Tomcat test and evaluation maintenance material control officer. According to tradition, Sanchez took a supersonic ride in the back of the F-14 Tomcat which he said was the time of his life. “If you haven’t heard, the world famous Tomcat that Tom Cruise put on the map with the movie Top Gun is currently disestablishing from the Navy,” Sanchez said. “We at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Three Zero (VX-30) ‘The Bloodhounds’ out of Point Mugu, Calif., are a Combat Support Unit....

Both fighter pilots of an Iranian F-14 Tomcat were killed Monday morning after it crashed near the central city of Isfahan while landing. The plane, based at the Sixth Air Base of the Iranian Army, went down and exploded while on a drill flight, the public relations office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army confirmed, adding both pilots were 'martyred'. Military experts have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash, it said.

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Two F-14A Tomcats operating from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the Red Sea collided with each other while conducting basic daytime fighter maneuvers Feb. 2. No one was injured during the incident, and both aircraft landed safely aboard Enterprise. One F-14 sustained minor damage to its right wingtip, and the other’s right vertical stabilizer had nearly been sheared off. The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 F-14s are “Checkmates” from Fighter Squadron (VF) 211, home-based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. The incident is under investigation, and Enterprise is still able to continue its present mission....

NAVAL AIR STATION ATSUGI, Japan: A squadron of 11 US F-14 fighters flew out of this base just south of Tokyo on Wednesday for the last time, ending a 12-year deployment in Japan. Fighter Squadron VF-154, known as the Black Knights, was being relocated to Naval Air Station Lemoore, California in keeping with the Navy's policy of retiring its aging F-14 Tomcat fleet. According to a Navy statement, the squadron was initially deployed to this base in August 1981 to join Carrier Air Wing Five. This year, flying off the deck of the USS Kitty Hawk, it joined coalition forces...

<p>Now this message for America's most famous athletes: Someday you may be invited to fly in the backseat of one of your country's most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have -- John Elway, John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity, let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity....</p>

<p>ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION -(KRT) - Sleek and projecting power even though still, the USS Constellation's F-14 Tomcats dominate the carrier's flight deck. Originally designed to foil Soviet fighters during the Cold War, these exponents of Navy air power are probably seeing their last service in this one.</p>

Story Number: NNS030321-11 Release Date: 3/21/2003 2:00:00 PM Special news release from the U.S. Department of Defense WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) F-14 Program Office announced recently it has accelerated and deployed a software upgrade program allowing the U.S Navy's F-14 D-model Tomcats to carry Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Operational tests already in progress indicated the software upgrade was mature and stable. The test community have since determined they could provide a recommendation for an early release of the JDAM capability. On Jan. 31, a NAVAIR software support team was assembled to modify the aircraft and...

The seven defendants were charged at the end of a five-year investigation into the illegal shipping of sensitive weapons, including parts used in surface-to-air missiles and fighter aircraft, prosecutors revealed. All seven, including two people of Chinese origin, were based in the Los Angeles area and allegedly attempted to export parts for weapons such as the AIM-9 "Sidewinder" heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile to China. "The investigation ... was launched in 1998 to stem the illegal flow of military and defense equipment in and out of the United States," Assistant United States Attorney Mary Carter Andrues said in a statement. The...

BATTLE OF THE SUPERFIGHTERS Two Experts Say the Super Hornet isn't so Super Editors' note: every airplane that goes into service is accompanied by controversy. This is especially true of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Our two experts argue that the Super Hornet is not necessarily the airplane the Navy needs for the future, and their backgrounds lend weight to their arguments. Rear Adm. Paul Gillcrist U.S. Navy (Ret.) spent 33 years as a fighter pilot and wing commander and was operations commander of all Pacific Fleet fighters. Bob Kress is an aeronautical engineer and, during his long career at Grumman,...