Us Navy Retires The F-14

2006-03-10 16:54:23

#1

Souls: Member; +14|6902|Garden City, KS. USA

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There will be no more dogfights for the Tomcat.

The last two squadrons of the sleek, Cold War fighter jet returned home from their final deployment Friday, two decades after the warplanes were glamorized in the 1986 Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun."

All 22 Tomcats of fighter squadrons VF-213 and VF-31 arrived in style, flying together in a wedge formation over Oceana Naval Air Station as hundreds of sailors and their family and friends cheered. Some wore T-shirts reading "Tomcats Forever" and a banner proclaimed, "Last Fly-In, Baby!"

"We're putting the premier fighter to sleep," said pilot Lt. Jon Jeck, 32, as he held his 3-year-old son Collin. "It's a staple of Americana."

The Navy plans to replace the F-14, a two-seat fighter with moveable swept-back wings, with the F/A-18 Super Hornets.

The F-14 entered service in the early 1970s to defend aircraft carriers from Soviet bombers carrying long-range cruise missiles.

"If you want to think about airplanes that have defined the air age, this would have to be on the short list," military analyst John Pike said.

After the Cold War, the Navy became less concerned about defending carrier groups and transformed the F-14 into a bomb-dropping fighter jet, said Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria research center on security issues.

"But it was not designed as a bomb hauler," Pike said. "They would rather have a new plane ... than try to teach an old cat new tricks."

The F-14 squadrons that returned Friday were from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been on a six-month deployment for the Iraq war. The Roosevelt was to return Saturday to nearby Norfolk Naval Station.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187521,00.html

2006-03-10 17:25:22

#2

oberst_enzian: Member; +234|6982|melb.au

Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go

Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone

Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the track
And shovin' into overdrive

Highway to the Danger Zone
I'll take you
Right into the Danger Zone

You'll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You'll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go

Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity

Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take you
Right into the Danger Zone

Highway to the Danger Zoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Last edited by oberst_enzian (2006-03-10 17:42:41)

2006-03-10 18:09:02

#3

xX[Elangbam]Xx: Member; +107|6937

this sucks man. The F-14 was and is my favorite plane. I remember when i was 6 and bought a toy plane of it and my uncle told me it was an F-14. My parents would help me search the internet for it and i used to love every bit of it. Personally i think its better than the other planes out there.

2006-03-10 20:37:24

#4

Souls: Member; +14|6902|Garden City, KS. USA

What sucks about losing the F-14 is the Navy just lost its only long range strike aircraft. The F-14D took that job after they retired the A-6 Intruder. The F-18E does not have the range or the weapon carrying capacity that F-14 or A-6 had. So to me US naval aviation just got weaker today.

Are they going to throw away all those million dollar a piece AIM-54 Phoenix missiles?

One of the first computer games I ever played was an F-14 sim called FLEET DEFENDER. I loved that game. Running that multi-mode AWG-9 radar it had was cool. Wish someone would make another F-14 simulation.

Last edited by Souls (2006-03-10 20:47:02)

2006-03-10 22:01:44

#5

BVC: Member; +325|6934

At least you've got a decent air capability! Our strike wing (A4 Skyhawks) was retired 10 years ago, the most armed aircraft we have are Iraquois (vietnam era, but soon to be replaced with NH90s) and a handful of Orions carrying anti-ship missiles! No fighter jets for NZ

2006-03-10 22:30:09

#6

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|6955

now f-18 is the dominant aircraft for the navy, soon it will be replaced by the f35C (not the one in bf2) its the one with no verticle take off but has longer wings more suited for carrier take offs

https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png

2006-03-10 22:32:29

#7

TrollmeaT: Aspiring Objectivist; +492|6912|Colorado

out with the old & in with the new.

2006-03-11 11:46:55

#8

bigelectricat: Member; +3|6931

Souls wrote:
What sucks about losing the F-14 is the Navy just lost its only long range strike aircraft. The F-14D took that job after they retired the A-6 Intruder. The F-18E does not have the range or the weapon carrying capacity that F-14 or A-6 had. So to me US naval aviation just got weaker today.

agreed. not only can the f-14d fly farther with heavier payload but it can also outrun an f-18e.

2006-03-11 20:13:17

#9

Gen. Payne: Member; +50|6946|USA

What a long, strange trip it's been. At least now we're closer to getting our F-35B's in real life

2006-03-11 22:53:41

#10

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|6955

bigelectricat wrote:
Souls wrote:
What sucks about losing the F-14 is the Navy just lost its only long range strike aircraft. The F-14D took that job after they retired the A-6 Intruder. The F-18E does not have the range or the weapon carrying capacity that F-14 or A-6 had. So to me US naval aviation just got weaker today.
agreed. not only can the f-14d fly farther with heavier payload but it can also outrun an f-18e.

of course it can, thats why its an interceptor... but f18's have better computing systems i think, but as i said the f35c is gonna replace the f18 in a few years

2006-03-12 18:34:19

#11

Souls: Member; +14|6902|Garden City, KS. USA

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
bigelectricat wrote:
Souls wrote:
What sucks about losing the F-14 is the Navy just lost its only long range strike aircraft. The F-14D took that job after they retired the A-6 Intruder. The F-18E does not have the range or the weapon carrying capacity that F-14 or A-6 had. So to me US naval aviation just got weaker today.
agreed. not only can the f-14d fly farther with heavier payload but it can also outrun an f-18e.
of course it can, thats why its an interceptor... but f18's have better computing systems i think, but as i said the f35c is gonna replace the f18 in a few years

Having better computers don't make alot of difference if your 200 miles short of the target. Alot of the sorties in Afghanistan were flown by the F-14D because it was the only Navy plane that had the range to reach the target area.

2006-03-14 12:39:28

#12

whittsend: PV1 Joe Snuffy; +78|6997|MA, USA

TrollmeaT wrote:
out with the old & in with the new.

Hrm. It just got a lot harder to defend a carrier battle group. I think retiring the F-14 without an adequate replacement is a mistake. The F-18, while a nice plane, is not an adequate replacement for the F-14 (nor is it new - it has been around since the 80's). As many have said, it can't go as far, as fast, or carry as much as the F-14. It certainly can't carry the Phoenix missile which was the primary Carrier air defense weapon.

Essentially, with the F-14 being retired, the US navy is saying, "Nobody can threaten a carrier group from the air." I home somebody doesn't prove them wrong.

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
of course it can, thats why its an interceptor... but f18's have better computing systems i think, but as i said the f35c is gonna replace the f18 in a few years

Not sure if that's true (about the computers). With a feed from a Hawkeye, an F14 could launch six Phoenix Missiles simultaneously, at six targets, each 100 miles away, with a high degree of accuracy. No other air to air missile comes close to the phoenix, even now...and the F14 was the only plane that ever carried it. Why? Because it was so expensive that an Aircraft Carrier was the only piece of equipment that could justify needing it for defense.

Last edited by whittsend (2006-03-14 12:45:54)

2006-03-14 13:06:23

#13

wannabe_tank_whore: Member; +5|7016

F-22 perhaps?

2006-03-14 13:12:24

#14

whittsend: PV1 Joe Snuffy; +78|6997|MA, USA

wannabe_tank_whore wrote:
F-22 perhaps?

Nice plane, but isn't designed to operate off a carrier and can't carry the phoenix. Phoenix is a LARGE missile (and the F-14 is a LARGE Fighter - has to be to carry 6 Phoenixes).

Last edited by whittsend (2006-03-14 13:13:20)

2006-03-14 13:21:15

#15

wannabe_tank_whore: Member; +5|7016

whittsend wrote:
wannabe_tank_whore wrote:
F-22 perhaps?
Nice plane, but isn't designed to operate off a carrier and can't carry the phoenix. Phoenix is a LARGE missile (and the F-14 is a LARGE Fighter - has to be to carry 6 Phoenixes).

Found this:

"The F-14's primary weapon has been the AIM-54 Phoenix missile, capable of engaging a target at up to 200 km (120 statute miles). It was removed from service on 30 September 2004, replaced by the lower-range but much more accurate and maneuverable AMRAAM. The F-14 was the only aircraft to carry the AIM-54, which was designed as an integral part of the Tomcat weapons system. Although it could carry up to six of these large weapons, its heavy weight only enabled the F-14 to land on a carrier with two."

Last edited by wannabe_tank_whore (2006-03-14 13:22:30)

2006-03-14 13:25:55

#16

eusgen: Nugget; +402|7031|Jupiter

No more tomcat?.. what are they gonna do?, dismantle them or just trash them in a junk yard? I want to buy one, thats my favorite fucking jet man, i have models in my room, they are so prettyfull

2006-03-14 18:36:39

#17

Stubbee: Religions Hate Facts, Questions and Doubts; +223|6982|Reality

What are they gonna do with all the Phoenix missiles?
I don't other aircraft or equiped to carry them.

The US economy is a giant Ponzi scheme. And 'to big to fail' is code speak for 'niahnahniahniahnah 99 percenters'

2006-03-20 16:41:39

#18

Horseman 77: Banned; +160|7076

Its amazing, Yet another Aircraft retires without ever being bested.

The SR71 came in on time, under budget and still holds every record it ever set.

2006-03-20 17:57:22

#19

Renegade2k9: Member; +0|6906|Brooklyn, New York, USA

I don't understand how they can retire that aircraft? I though that was the only aircraft capiable of carrying the phoenix missile? Don't they need those if the fleet was ever under attack from long range by enemy fighters and bombers?

2006-03-20 19:49:42

#20

2ndLt.Tucker: If you can read this, your already dead; +33|6922|Stillwater, Ok

There are several reason to retire it. It had its glory days but outlived its purpose. The US is also trying to get it aircrafts to be more economical. Having 6-7 different jets with multiple models gets expensive when it comes to parts. Eventually the US will only have the F-22 and F-35 as its aircraft. The weapons systems are one in the same and the planes can use similar parts. Also the Phoenix like someone said earlier is outdated. While it had range the Aim-120 is much better with accuracy and is also cheaper. Anytime you have a missile that uses radar to guide itself into a target is very nice. Speed isnt always the best thing to have in a dogfight either. Manueverability is what lets you live when a missile is after you. It was a nice jet but as most of the planes in our arsenal they are obsolete now.

2006-03-20 19:52:14

#21

THA: im a fucking .....well not now; +609|7010|AUS, Canberra

im glad, now maybe aus will buy some like they did when you guys sacked the f-111.

and then pwn you all at red flag with them

2006-03-25 23:47:50

#22

GuestHead: Member; +2|6859

I just hope this means I'll be able to buy one someday. If I stumble across a few million, that is. I can dream damnit.

2006-03-26 15:51:54

#23

lowing: Banned; +1,662|6890|USA

I think the Navy shoulda held a closed door session with all you super genius's and mechanical engineers as well as all of you west point and annapolis graduates who majored in warfare tactics, before making a decision on this...........because from what I read here, you guys are more in the "know" about this shit than the ones that run these programs..........I bet you guys musta seen Top Gun 10 or 12 times each to be this knowledgeable.

Last edited by lowing (2006-03-26 15:52:36)

2006-03-26 16:00:35

#24

InviSniper: The first true Sniper.; +95|6883|Cumberland, MD, USA

Gentlemen, I raise my glass to the long and illustrious career of the F-14 cat. Long live the cat.

Last edited by InviSniper (2006-03-26 16:01:43)

2006-03-26 17:05:08

#25

Major_Spittle: Banned; +276|6894|United States of America

lowing wrote:
I think the Navy shoulda held a closed door session with all you super genius's and mechanical engineers as well as all of you west point and annapolis graduates who majored in warfare tactics, before making a decision on this...........because from what I read here, you guys are more in the "know" about this shit than the ones that run these programs..........I bet you guys musta seen Top Gun 10 or 12 times each to be this knowledgeable.

As the most senior Senator on the Defense Appropriations Committe, and the with F-18 defense contract money in my district, I challenge my fellow Senator from the great state of California, who happens to be on Ways and Means Committe, to challenge the 53 congressmen from the great state of California to introduce legistlation that will award A&K autosalvage of San Diego the Contract of decomissioning the F-14, and award General Dynamics of Irwin Califoria the contract for building the replacement aircraft. I do this only in the best interest of this great nation's defense and it is purely coincidentle that the legistlation will be buried in the Freedom of Femine Hygiene Act.

Yours Truely,

Tom "Puff-Daddy" Dashel

Last edited by Major_Spittle (2006-03-26 17:06:22)

BF2S Forums Us Navy Retires The F-14

Souls wrote:

bigelectricat wrote:

Souls wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

bigelectricat wrote:

Souls wrote:

TrollmeaT wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

wannabe_tank_whore wrote:

whittsend wrote:

wannabe_tank_whore wrote:

lowing wrote:

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