אינדקס
Iran Air Force
Iran Air Force . F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat: The Story Of Legendary - The Plane America and Iran Both Love
It was 1960, and the Soviets were developing a family of long range cruise missiles which could be launched from ships, submarines and aircraft. These missiles flew quickly and at low altitudes which made them ideal for targeting US Navy carriers. A sufficiently large number of these missiles could overwhelm the most advanced air defenses of that time. The US navy also lacked a long range fighter with a sufficiently large weapon load to intercept and destroy Soviet missiles and aircraft before they got too close to the carrier group. This made them realize the need for a fighter which can fly hundreds of km from the carrier and intercept Soviet bombers and missiles before it was too late.
Grumman engineers tested hundreds of wind tunnel models in various configurations and finally the model which was chosen had a swing wing and twin turbojet engines. The unique feature of these turbojets was that each of the 20,000 pound thrust producing engines were separated by several feet physically. This proved to be an ideal layout as the space between the engines under the fuselage was employed for carrying the massive AIM-54 Phoenix missile and 2000 lb. bombs. This design required a tall tail stabilizer which would hamper movement in the hangars of aircraft carriers. So Grumman opted for a twin tail configuration which allowed the use of short tail stabilizers. Unlike the side by side seating used by the pilot and the radar intercept officer in the F-111, the F-14 featured tandem seating for its 2 man crew which resulted in further streamlining of the aircraft. The final design chosen was the Design 303E
Iran Air Force . F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat: The Story Of Legendary - The Plane America and Iran Both Love
It was 1960, and the Soviets were developing a family of long range cruise missiles which could be launched from ships, submarines and aircraft. These missiles flew quickly and at low altitudes which made them ideal for targeting US Navy carriers. A sufficiently large number of these missiles could overwhelm the most advanced air defenses of that time. The US navy also lacked a long range fighter with a sufficiently large weapon load to intercept and destroy Soviet missiles and aircraft before they got too close to the carrier group. This made them realize the need for a fighter which can fly hundreds of km from the carrier and intercept Soviet bombers and missiles before it was too late.
Grumman engineers tested hundreds of wind tunnel models in various configurations and finally the model which was chosen had a swing wing and twin turbojet engines. The unique feature of these turbojets was that each of the 20,000 pound thrust producing engines were separated by several feet physically. This proved to be an ideal layout as the space between the engines under the fuselage was employed for carrying the massive AIM-54 Phoenix missile and 2000 lb. bombs. This design required a tall tail stabilizer which would hamper movement in the hangars of aircraft carriers. So Grumman opted for a twin tail configuration which allowed the use of short tail stabilizers. Unlike the side by side seating used by the pilot and the radar intercept officer in the F-111, the F-14 featured tandem seating for its 2 man crew which resulted in further streamlining of the aircraft. The final design chosen was the Design 303E
