ONE OF A KIND: COOL PROMOTIONAL VIDEO ILLUSTRATES F-14 TOMCAT’S UNIQUE CAPABILITIES

The F-14 Tomcat was fitted with a powerful weapons system known as the AWG-9 which was able to support the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided an unprecedented one-hundred mile range

Called One Of A Kind and made by Grumman to promote the F-14 fighter program, the cool video in this post shows how the mighty Tomcat could operate alone in tactical conditions, with its cutting edge Phoenix missile weapon system.

The legendary Grumman F-14 is perhaps the most widely recognized Navy fighter thanks to her starring role in Top Gun. The Tomcat was the first of the American teen-series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.

It was a failed attempt at standardization that resulted in the design of what is possibly the most famous fighter of the modern era.

When a Navy version of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-111 failed to meet exacting requirements for a carrier-based fighter, the service initiated a design competition for a new air superiority aircraft.

The result was a design marvel featuring a unique variable sweep wing, the F-14 Tomcat.

Despite the fact that the F-14 was a formidable dogfighter, what made the Tomcat unique was fleet air defense role. To accomplish this mission the aircraft was fitted with a powerful weapons system known as the AWG-9 which was able to support the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided an unprecedented one-hundred mile range and included a small onboard radar to guide itself to the target during the final phase of flight.

The F-14 first flew in December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical reconnaissance platform. In the 1990s, it added the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system and began performing precision ground-attack missions.

Photo credit: Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Steven King / U.S. Navy

Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com