To save at least 3 F-14s…
Four decades after Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell first felt the need for speed in the cockpit of an F-14 Tomcat, new legislation is keeping hope alive that the iconic swept-wing fighter could someday fly again.
In late April, the U.S. Senate, led by sponsor Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., unanimously approved the “Maverick Act,” introduced by freshman U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, an Illinois Republican and Army Reserve officer. The bill, which has yet to become law, authorizes the secretary of the Navy to hand over the service’s three remaining F-14D Tomcats to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Alabama.
It allows the commission to put the aircraft on display, but also permits them to be operated in “an airshow … or a commemorative event to preserve United States naval aviation heritage.”
Full article, HERE from Navy Times.
I worked with and knew a number of folks that flew the F-14s on active duty, and the ones that went to the sundown ceremony at Oceana September 22, 2006 came back grumbling about the fact that the birds were going to be destroyed.
There was a good reason, even back then, there were ‘concerns’ about Iran getting pieces/parts to keep their F-14s flying, including via the black market. They were the only other country to have them, in addition to P-3Fs they’d bought in the late 70s.
Ironically, the Iranians were the only ones to ever fire the Phoenix missile in combat, and yes, it worked as advertised. ROE prevented the US F-14 squadrons from ever using them by requiring positive ID of the target prior to firing.
There are there are approximately 8-10 F-14 Tomcat airframe hulls remaining in inventory at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG). They don’t have any engines, electronics, or anything else in them. The ‘goal’ of the Maverick Act is to make three flyable F-14s out of what is left.
I just hope they succeed…
Photo Dave Parsons (Smithsonian Mag)
Something’s not right with that picture embed of the F-14, so I pulled out the picture from its base URL and re-uploaded it to Imgur for you:
https://imgur.com/a/ezP5SlN
Years ago, I watched a Navy pilot show the abilities of an F-14 during an airshow at Chenault Field in Lake Charles. The pilot was sort of a cocky ass when he was answering questions. I understand his attitude. Being honored to fly such a fantastic machine has to be an overwhelming feeling. If he flew commercial transports after his service, I imagine he had plenty of moments wishing he could still fly his F-14.
I was a VAST tech in the Navy. We had a command we could enter that turned the test bench display into Persian (and so every new guy got that done to him at least once). We apparently sold the Shah some VAST benches to maintain the F-14 avionics.
First project I worked on at Hughes was the F-14/AWG-9/AIM-54 system. Got to meet some of the pilots, and our group was given a tour of the Nimitz. Incredible aircraft. It would be nice to see (and hear!) them again.
Ag- Thanks!
Jess- Yeah, they have ‘egos’… sigh
TB- Yes, y’all did.
Drjim- Amen!
The F-14 was a beautiful capable work of military art. But it is outdated. So if a private party or group can save some that’s a worthy effort. But save out tax dollars for modern capable hardware. We are likely to need all we can get.
X2