Editing Grumman F-14 Tomcat (section)

{{Short description|Carrier-based air superiority fighter aircraft family}}
{{Redirect|F14}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox aircraft
 |name= F-14 Tomcat
 |image= File:US Navy 051105-F-5480T-005 An F-14D Tomcat conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf-region.jpg
 |image_caption= A [[U.S. Navy]] F-14D conducts a mission over the [[Persian Gulf]] region in 2005.
 |aircraft_type= [[Interceptor aircraft|Interceptor]], [[air superiority fighter|air superiority]], and [[multirole combat aircraft|multirole]] fighter
 |national_origin= United States
 |manufacturer= [[Grumman]]
 |first_flight= {{Start date and age|1970|12|21|df=yes}}
 |introduction= {{Start date and age|1974|09|22|df=yes}}
 |retired= {{Start date and age|2006|09|22|df=yes}} ([[United States Navy]])
 |status= In service with Iran
 |primary_user= [[United States Navy]] (historical)
 |more_users= {{plainlist|
* [[Air force history of Iran|Imperial Iranian Air Force]] (historical)
* [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force]]}}
 |number_built= 712
 |produced= 1969–1991
 |variants=
}}

The '''Grumman F-14 Tomcat''' is an American carrier-capable [[supersonic aircraft|supersonic]], [[twinjet|twin-engine]], [[tandem]] two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable [[variable-sweep wing]] [[fighter aircraft]]. The Tomcat was developed for the [[United States Navy]]'s Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the [[General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B|General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B]] project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American [[Teen Series]] fighters, which were designed incorporating [[aerial warfare|air combat]] experience against smaller, more maneuverable [[List of Mikoyan and MiG aircraft|MiG fighters]] during the [[Vietnam War]].

The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}}, 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 aircraft|interceptor]], and tactical [[aerial reconnaissance]] platform into the 2000s. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night ([[LANTIRN]]) pod system was added in the 1990s and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions.<ref name="USN_FF">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060402215910/https://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1100&ct=1 |archive-date=2 April 2006 |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1100&ct=1 |title=F-14 Tomcat fighter fact file |publisher=United States Navy |date=5 July 2003 |access-date=20 January 2007}}</ref> The Tomcat was retired by U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, supplanted by the [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet]]. Several retired F-14s have been put on display across the US.

Having been exported to [[Pahlavi Iran]] under the [[Western Bloc|Western-aligned]] Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] in 1976, F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the [[Air force history of Iran#Imperial era|Imperial Iranian Air Force]]. Following the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979, the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force]] used them during the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war (only 55 of these confirmed, according to historian Tom Cooper),<ref name="Persian Cats"/> while 16 Tomcats were lost, including seven losses to accidents.<ref name="Persian Cats"/><ref>Cooper, Tom and Farzad Bishop. ''Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat'', p. 84. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|1 84176 787 5}}.</ref> As of 2024, the F-14 is in service with Iran's air force, though in low numbers of combat-ready aircraft due to a lack of spare parts.