The Strangely Short Life of the F-14 Tomcat

Abstract 

The F-14 Tomcat is famous for its special structure and is known as one of the most beautiful and iconic aircraft in U.S. military history. Its engine thrust is powerful, and its aerodynamic design is excellent for flying with less friction from wind and air. In close dogfights, it can make the most of its powerful thrust and wing overloads.   The F-14 Tomcat may look bulky, but it's very flexible in practice. However, compared with other aircraft models that have been used for 40 years or more, the F-14 Tomcat was retired by the U.S. military after only 32 years of service. Starting from the model cost, model application purpose, and experience of the model engine, this paper further finds, studies and demonstrates the most reasonable reason why the F-14 Tomcat was retired early by the U.S. military. Such research helps readers understand the evolving goals and needs of the U.S. military in designing aircraft and how they make decisions about which designs to retire and why they make adjustments to aircraft. 

Introduction

Militaries around the globe typically use specific aircraft models for 40 years or more. For example, the U.S. military has been using the F-15 for 46 years, from  1976 to the present. Likewise, the F-16 has been in use since 1978, for 44 years. However, there is a particular aircraft model that has only been in service to the U. S. military for 32 years. The official service time for this model of aircraft was 1974 to 2006, the year it was officially retired.  Additionally, this aircraft model has many unusual characteristics. The F-14’s unique design features variable sweep wings. The wings can shift from 20 to 68 degrees during flight This ability to change speed dynamically gives it a tactical advantage when engaging enemy planes. But none of these advantages stopped the military from retiring this model of aircraft early. At the end of the day the advantages of the wing design waned over time. And the cost of the F-14 is higher than the most advanced fighters currently being used by the US military

Budget Constraint

The primary reason why the F-14 Tomcat may have been retired so early is its high cost to build. In 1973, the F-14A cost $38 million to make. This amount in today’s dollars is $234 million. In comparison, the F-35, the US military’s most advanced fighter, costs $78 million.

The high price is due to the build cost of the variable sweep wings. These are a required feature as they allow it to change speed mid-flight. Variable sweep wings are special structures that allow  the aircraft to change the angle of the wings while it flies. This allows for sudden change in speed. This provided a tactical advantage over other fighters at the time it was first built. However, air resistance has not been as important since the advent of better engine technology since 1973. Modern aircraft’s sophisticated features, such as stealth technology, are actually hampered by variable sweep wings. New technology such as stealth has been developed to give aircraft more power via better engines.

Applicability Constraint

The second reason why the F-14 Tomcat may have been retired early is that it was designed to intercept the Soviet Tu-95 and similar bombers, which are no longer in common use. Tu-95’s have long range and specifically launch off ships. The F-14 was designed to intercept Tu’s ahead of any strike. It could  fly over 100 miles to hit a  target. The range gave it an ability other fighters didn’t have in terms of pursuing its targets. F-14’s also carried the Phoenix missile. The Phoenix was specifically designed to take down Tu’s and similar bombers. The radar on the F-14 Tomcat could  also track 24 targets at the same time. The multiple bomber targeting was the most of any figher at the time and allowed it to pursue entire Soviet bomber groups. But the downside compared to modern aircraft was its weight. It weighed in at 8400 lbs This is twice the weight of the F/A-18 Hornet, one of the navy’s most advanced modern fighters. The biggest nail in the coffin for the Tomcat was the Soviet’s heavy reduction in bombers. Like most modern superpowers they shifted to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s) as the primary delivery method for nuclear missiles. This made the Tomcat’s primary function obsolete. And combined with its heavy weight and manufacturing cost meant it was no longer practical to keep them in use.

F-14 Modified Version 

Engineers attempted to solve the issues of the original Tomcat and keep it in use, They introduced newer models. The F-14B, F-14D, and F-14-ADF. The new planes introduced upgraded radar built to cover larger areas. They also featured more powerful engines. These evolutions, however, were not enough to make up for the core flaws of the Tomcat when compared to more modern fighters. The  F/A-18 Hornet, the Navy’s newest fighter meant to replace the Tomcat, features a more modern design that is cheaper, lighter, and smaller. It could also hold newer missiles and bombs. Unlike the Tomcat, these didn’t require modification of the plane’s structure to be attached.. The US military opted to go with the Hornet and retire all the F-14 models. 

Conclusion

In this paper, we used the F-14 Tomcat as the most well known example of the US military’s decision making process when retiring an aircraft. This includes the requirements they go over, and the basis for their decisions. It seems the lack of a practical application in modern warfare is the number one reason. This would primarily be decided by assessing the tactical advantages of a plane or lack thereof. The latter would describe the Tomcat. From a propaganda standpoint the US public and the military did lose out by retiring the Tomcat. There might have been some reluctance by the US military to make the change. The movie Top Gun’s main character was a fighter pilot who flew a Tomcat. This was a huge boost for the image of the US military and its pilots. But propaganda alone did not justify keeping an outdated and obsolete plane in production.

Works Cited:

“Why Was the F-14 Tomcat Sent to Early Retirement?”
Lieser

19fortyfive.com/2021/10/why-was-the-f-14-tomcat-sent-to-early-retirement/

“Why did the F-14 Tomcat retire decades before its peers?”
Hollings et al.

sandboxx.us/blog/why-did-the-f-14-tomcat-retire-decades-before-its-peers/