It always blew my mind how long the F-14 was in service - they were present at the American evacuation from Saigon in 1975.
As a fighter, definitely. When you compare it to other larger military aircraft, it doesn't seem very long at all. The B52 has been in active service since 1955. The A-10 was introduced in 1977 and isn't expected to be replaced until nearly 2030.
Tales of the F-14
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Re: Tales of the F-14
#22Why is it that the Navy never replaced the F-14 with a fighter with similar characteristics - speed, range, weapon range etc ?
I assume because we're preparing for different threats. The F-14 was designed for creating air superiority in direct confrontations with the Soviet Union. Now our likely opponents will concede that territory to us and respond with suicide bombs.
Re: Tales of the F-14
#23Why is it that the Navy never replaced the F-14 with a fighter with similar characteristics - speed, range, weapon range etc ?
The F-14 was designed to protect US carriers from air attack. They would have been really fucking useful in WWII but since then that job hasn't been necessary. Less flippantly, they may have helped the British in the Falklands, since the Phoenix missile was designed to shoot down cruise missiles like the Exocets which the Argentines used to some success (as well as the planes they were launched from). Of course, the British at the time did not have carriers capable of launching or landing the F-14, only smaller carriers designed to maintain a fleet of Harriers.
Aegis cruisers came out a couple years after the F-14, and do most of the same job with surface to air missiles, and even they are overkill. It's exceedingly rare we will get into a shooting war with a country capable of matching even the F/A-18's performance in the hands of American naval aviators, much less on the high seas. (Off the high seas, it might be useful to have an overpowered air superiority fighter, but that's the F-22's job. Of course, judging from the Iraq war it helps to have as much as your air fleet as possible launching from carriers, just in case you manage to piss off all the countries where the Air Force could base their planes in the region.)
Re: Tales of the F-14
#24It always blew my mind how long the F-14 was in service - they were present at the American evacuation from Saigon in 1975.
As a fighter, definitely. When you compare it to other larger military aircraft, it doesn't seem very long at all. The B52 has been in active service since 1955. The A-10 was introduced in 1977 and isn't expected to be replaced until nearly 2030.
Grew up about 5 miles from the plant in Marietta Ga.
Re: Tales of the F-14
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the Douglas DC-4 was introduced in the 1930s and there are still a few flying around!
I think you mean the DC-3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC-3
Re: Tales of the F-14
#26Fave (relevant) quote: "The best way to do something ‘lean’ is to gather a tight group of people, give them very little money, and very little time."
It doesn't work at all if you're implementing enterprise software. Who gets gung ho about TPS reports? Rather than heroes, people feel exploited, since they know they're busting their arses just to make their VP look good...
Re: Tales of the F-14
#27It always blew my mind how long the F-14 was in service - they were present at the American evacuation from Saigon in 1975.
While a respectable career, its not that remarkably long. A-10 for example was operational in late 70's and it's still in service. On the other hand Tomcats successor F/A-18 Hornet was already introduced in mid-80's. Compare that to F-15 Eagle, which was also introduced in late 70's and its successor, F-22 Raptor, introduced in 2005. And the Eagle is supposed to last to at least 2025, according to Wikipedia. Throwing…
That goes for all the other major Western fighters too. The ONLY reason we're buying Eurofighter Typhoons is contractual obligation. Tornadoes (more-or-less a British equivalent to the Tomcat) are still perfectly good. If there were worries about the airframes we should have simply spun the production lines back up and made more of the proven design.
Re: Tales of the F-14
#28Isn't Iran (of all places) still flying the F-14?
Yes, they are still using it. In fact, Iran remains the only country that the US exported F-14s to.
Re: Tales of the F-14
#29It always blew my mind how long the F-14 was in service - they were present at the American evacuation from Saigon in 1975.
As a fighter, definitely. When you compare it to other larger military aircraft, it doesn't seem very long at all. The B52 has been in active service since 1955. The A-10 was introduced in 1977 and isn't expected to be replaced until nearly 2030.
Re: Tales of the F-14
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the Douglas DC-4 was introduced in the 1930s and there are still a few flying around!
In active service in the armed forces, or private/commercial?