Editing Grumman F-14 Tomcat (section)

===Full-scale development===
[[File:F-14 Tomcat prototypes in flight c1972.jpg|thumb|Grumman's VFX entry was designed around the TF30 engine, AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 missile intended for the F-111B; this eventually became the F-14A.]]

McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968. Grumman's 303E design was selected for the contract award in January 1969.<ref>Spick 2000, p. 74.</ref> The design reused the [[Pratt & Whitney TF30|TF30]] engines from the F-111B, though the Navy planned on replacing them with the [[Pratt & Whitney F401|Pratt & Whitney F401-400]] engines under development for the Navy, along with the related [[Pratt & Whitney F100]] for the USAF.<ref>Spick 2000, p. 112.</ref> Though lighter than the F-111B, it was still the largest and heaviest U.S. fighter to fly from an aircraft carrier, a consequence of the requirement to carry the large [[AN/AWG-9|AWG-9 radar]] and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles (from the F-111B) and an internal fuel load of {{convert|16000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}. The design service life was 6,000 flight hours, although this was later extended to 7,200 hours.<ref>Gunston and Spick 1983, p. 112.</ref>

Upon winning the contract for the F-14, Grumman greatly expanded its [[Calverton, New York|Calverton]], Long Island, New York facility for evaluating the aircraft. Much of the testing, including the first of many compressor stalls and multiple ejections, took place over Long Island Sound. To save time and avoid cancellation by the new presidential administration, the Navy skipped the prototype phase and jumped directly to full-scale development; the Air Force took a similar approach with its [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle]].<ref name="Jenkins">Jenkins, Dennis R. ''F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. {{ISBN|0-07-134696-1}}.</ref> The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract. The fighter reached initial operational capability (IOC) in 1973. The [[United States Marine Corps]] was initially interested in the F-14 as an F-4 Phantom II replacement, going so far as to send officers to [[VF-124|Fighter Squadron One Twenty-Four (VF-124)]] to train as instructors. The Marine Corps pulled out of any procurement when the development of the stores' management system for ground attack munitions was not pursued and decided the upcoming [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet|F-18]] fit their role better.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2005/august/late-great-lou-wilson | title=The Late Great Lou Wilson | date=August 2005 }}</ref> An air-to-ground capability was not developed until the 1990s.<ref name="Jenkins"/>

Firing trials involved launches against simulated targets of various types, from cruise missiles to high-flying bombers. AIM-54 Phoenix missile testing from the F-14 began in April 1972. The longest single Phoenix launch was successful against a target at a range of {{convert|110|nmi|km|abbr=on}} in April 1973. Another unusual test was made on 22 November 1973, when six missiles were fired within 38 seconds at Mach 0.78 and {{convert|24800|ft|m|abbr=on}}; four scored direct hits, one broke the lock and missed, and one was declared "no test" after the radar signature augmentation in the target drone (which increased the apparent radar signature of the tiny drone to the size of a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]]) failed, causing the missile to break track. This gave a tested success rate of 80% since effectively only 5 missiles were tested. This was the most expensive single test of air-to-air missiles ever performed at that time.<ref>Spick 2000, pp. 110–111.</ref>