The Iranian Air Force is the only service to have ever operated the American F-14 Tomcat
heavyweight air superiority fighter other than the U.S. Navy itself, acquiring 79 of
the jets in the 1970s to provide an effective air defence against the Soviet Union’s high
flying and extremely survivable MiG-25 Foxbat interceptors. The F-14 its the heaviest Western
fighter ever made available for export, and was selected over the lighter and much cheaper
F-15 which was used by the U.S. Air Force and sold to Saudi Arabia and Israel. The F-14
is highly prized for its powerful sensor suite and access to extremely long ranged munitions
- with the AIM-54 Phoenix sold to Iran still holding the record for the longest ranged
American air to air missile ever to enter service. According to a number of Western
sources Iranian F-14s were able to down over 150 French and Soviet made Iraqi fighters
during the Iran-Iraq war for only three losses in air to air combat, providing an overwhelming
advantage in long range engagements over other aircraft of its time with exception of the
Soviet MiG-31 Foxhound. The Tomcat was the first fourth generation fighter to enter service
anywhere in the world, and is currently the only one in Iranian service with a modern
air to air capability.
While Iran is expected to make purchases of advanced Russian or Chinese fighters from
October 2020, when a UN arms embargo on the country will expire, the F-14 is expected
to remain in service alongside the newer aircraft. The size of the Iranian F-14 fleet has gradually
expanded in recent years as new technologies, namely 3D printing, have allowed Iran to more
easily manufacture parts for the aircraft domestically bringing more of them out of
storage and into service. Providing some firsthand insight into the capabilities of Iran’s
F-14s at both standoff and visual ranges, former pilot Major Farhad stated in an interview:
“F-14s equipped with the AWG-9 pulse Doppler radar, the Iranian pilots could hit an enemy
aircraft from 100 miles away, but the pilots also appreciated the airplane’s fighting
abilities close in… The capability of the F-14A to snap around during the dogfight was
unequalled… After only 100 hours of training, I learned to pitch the nose of my Tomcat up
at a 75-degree [angle of attack] in just over a second, turn around, and acquire the opponent
either with Sidewinders or the gun.”
The F-14A marketed to Iran is notably the least capable variant of the fighter, with
the most capable variant the F-14D entering service in 1991 and widely considered the
most capable aircraft of the Cold War in its air to air combat capabilities. The F-14D
is more capable than the vast majority of Western fighters in service today, but was
retired in 2006 due to its extremely high operational costs and maintenance requirements
and its limited use in an air to ground role and for operations in the War on Terror. Retiring
the platform has seriously compromised the ability of American carrier groups to control
surrounding airspace, however. With American Tomcats retired Iran is the F-14’s only
operator, and is able to circumvent the issue of high maintenance requirements due to its
much lower labour costs and the low cost of manufacturing spare parts domestically. Although
they are not thought to be as capable as the F-14D, Iran has heavily upgraded its F-14A
to keep them viable - integrating new electronic warfare systems and sensors onto the aircraft
with a reportedly revolutionary effect. The AIM-54 missile has also been replaced with
the indigenous Fakour 90, which has a considerably longer range reportedly of around 300km and
benefits from improved sensors and electronic warfare countermeasures. The new missile is
heavily based on land closely resembles the AIM-54.
The Iranian air force was so skilled in the Iran-Iraq War that a lone Tomcat could clear
the skies of enemy aircraft without firing a shot. Many of the successful downings of
Tomcats were at the hands of ground-based SAM batteries ... Iranian SAM batteries.
But the US eventually gets better stuff, no matter how iconic "Top Gun" is. Since the
Tomcat, we've had the major advances in fighter technology that led us to develop the F-22
and F-35 fighters, technology so amazing it might seem like magic to some.
So it made sense to retire our fleet of F-14s in 2007, given that we had an air-superiority
fighter that had the radar cross-section of a bumblebee and could take out enemy planes
before it could physically see them. When Iran got wind of the Tomcat's retirement,
you could practically hear the CEO of Northrop Grumman's tummy growling at the idea of parts
sales.
But nope. This was 2007, and Iran was still firmly placed in President George W. Bush's
"Axis of Evil," along with North Korea. The idea of selling Iran rare F-14 parts so it
didn't have to cannibalize its own F-14 inventory was preposterous. It was this concern that
led the Pentagon to shred every leftover F-14 Tomcat.
Did the US have to take a $38 million plane and reduce it to scrap metal just so Iran
couldn't repair its aging fleet? No, according to many national security experts, it did
not.
They said the move was more symbolic than practical. F-14 parts were considered sensitive
equipment just for this reason, so the US ended all parts sales to anyone, not just
Iran, for fear that Iran might get them eventually. But that doesn't matter; there isn't much
Iran could do with its F-14s if they were airworthy.
"Those planes as they age are maybe the equivalent of Chevrolets in Cuba. They become relics
of a past era," said Larry C. Johnson, a former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the State
Department in President George H.W. Bush's administration. "Even if they can put them
in the air, they are going to face more advanced weapons systems."
The decision to destroy all the surplus Tomcats was the defense equivalent of taking the house
and the car despite not needing or wanting either — a purely spiteful move that makes
Tomcat fans wish they would have just donated to museums.