The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a United States Navy supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-seat strike fighter. The Tomcat's primary missions are air superiority, fleet air defense, and precision strike against ground targets.
General characteristics
* Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer)
* Length: 61 ft 9 in (18.6 m)
* Wingspan: 64 ft (19 m) unswept, 38 ft (11.4 m) swept
* Height: 16 ft (4.8 m)
* Wing area: 565 ft² (54.5 m²)
* Maximum takeoff: 72,900 lb (32,805 kg)
* Powerplant:
o F-14A: 2x Pratt & Whitney TF-30P-414A turbofans, 15,285 lbf (68 kN) each, 20,900 lbf (93 kN) with afterburner
o F-14B/D: 2x General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofans, 16,610 lbf (74 kN) each, 27,000 lbf (120 kN) with afterburner
Performance
* Maximum speed: 1,544 mph (2,485 km/h) Mach 2.34
* Combat radius: 576 miles (927 km)
* Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,000+ m)
* Rate of climb: F-14A: 30,000 ft/min (9,145 m/min); F-14B/D: 45,000+ ft/min (13715+ m/min)
* Wing loading: 113.4 lb/ft² (553.9 kg/m²)
* Thrust/weight: F-14A: 0.72 lbf/lb (7.1 N/kg)
Truly a mistake to retire these beauties for F-18s that can't dogfight as well, nor fly as fast... Truly the wolf of all aircraft, and it heavily influenced Sukhoi's Su-27! (Thanks to Iran selling them to Russia... But hey! Least somebody made use out of a near perfect design.)
The F-14A is the ultimate fighter and my favourite one.