Iran Thinks CIA Drones Took out its F-14 Tomcat

[Darius77]

F-14 Tomcats ..... ............. .....Newsflash, the Dinosaurs died Millions of years ago, and Iran is still operating a 'Dinosaur!!!

What is this a desperate ignorant attempt by a teenager to seek attention by mindless trolling. The age any aircraft is meaningless as the airframe life is what matters as well as avionics and weapons upgrade. The Mirage III that the PAF operates with Rose refit are over 50 years old and were gathering dust at Woomera, the F-15, F-16 and even the F-18 Hornet are over 30 years old. The US B-52 are 60 years old. Almost all Russian aircraft design and introduction was during the Soviet era and are performing just fine with upgrades.

You seem to lack basic understanding of metallurgy and aircraft design. The F-14A Persian Cat was the first fly by wire supersonic variable geometry swept wing fighter interceptor of its time and built specifically for Iranian requirements.

As a mechanical engineer and an aviator let me educate you with some useful information that you will not find on the internet or in books. The F-14A was hand picked by the Shah who was a skilled pilot and an avid reader of military technology. In the late the 1970's the Grumman F-14A Tomcat was the fastest and most maneuverable multi-mission capable jet fighter in the world, considered far superior to the F-15 Eagle and the nascent F-16, which 300 Iran had ordered but were canceled due to the revolution.

79 F-14A were delivered to IIAF prior to February 1979 (one was not delivered due to the break up with US and total arms embargo). The Iranians were very quick the master this superb fighter and push the envelope of its formidable capabilities. At the time of activation as the prime frontline fighter of the IIAF and subsequently the IRIAF, the F-14A incorporated the most powerful multiple target tracking Hughes AN/AWG-9 Fire Control radar mated to the long range BVR Hughes AIM 54A Phoenix AAM capable of taking on multiple bogeys at 100 knots plus. The AN/AWG9 fire control and targeting radar was unique for its time as it operated as pulse dopplar or conventional pulse mode providing accurate range and target tracking simultaneously locking on to 24 targets with its six BVR AIM 54 at 50 knots plus. The IRIAF used this very effectively as an adhoc AWACS in the 8 year war, scoring multiple victories and setting new standards in long range air interdiction. The late great Major Jalil Zandi (retired as Brigadier General) still holds the world's combat air ace record on the F-14A to this day.

Its secondary missiles like the time tested AIM9G Sidewinder and AIM7E/F Sparrow were as lethal. The close support 20mm Vulcan provided dog fighting and ground saturation fire.

At Iranian request, more than 25% of the F-14A was constructed out of long lasting light weight titanium. The extensive use of Titanium at the time was revolutionary and this alloy made it lighter and more tensile with electron beam welding and a boronepoxy composite for the tailspin skins to provide optimal ratio of strength to weight and reduce drag and aerodynamic resistance. The twin Pratt and Whitney TF-30 P412A afterburning turbofan engines gave it extraordinary thrust and agility with a capability to remain totally stable at 6-8 G at angles of attack as steep as 90 degrees, which the Iranians quickly mastered and put to use in the Jange Tahmili, scoring the highest aerial victories on this capable gunfighter of the Persian skies.

The IRIAF with one of the most sophisticated, experienced and advanced aircraft infrastructure and maintenance facilities in the world has upgraded all the remaining 60 or so airframes and installed more powerful radars and domestic weapons systems including Iranian made Fakour 90 AAM. All the IRIAF F-14A Persian Cats have aerial refueling capability extending the sortie range to well over 3000 miles at full combat load of 32,000 kilos. The IRIAF F-14A with upgraded engines are capable of a top speed of Mach 2.3 or around 1550 mph. Even today, with skilled and experienced Iranian pilots, the Persian Cat is quite capable of ruling the Persian skies.

So before posting idiotic nonsense, take a minute to think and learn from grown-ups. Hope this educates you.

692 × 386
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IRIAF F-14A with full air combat armament.

Iranian made Fakour 90