![]() ![]() In my cockpit we used our radar and eyeballs to watch as much as we could see: multiple elements flowing with precision, all silent. The memorable part for me was that it was radio-silent. Routing, timing, deconfliction were all complex and planned in detail. Strike packages came in from many different points and ‘hit’ different targets, supported by counter-air packages, electronic warfare, and other elements. Our air wing flew simulated strikes all the time, but this was the ‘strike of the month’, so it involved the US Marine Corps, US Air Force, and coalition forces. The second was a large coordinated simulated strike over Iraq during Operation Southern Watch (OSW). On the next engagement, we were kill-removed on the intercept, so that wasn’t memorable.” I would pay $1,000 for a tape of that engagement. We killed at least three Phantoms in the engagement and then bugged out. I was flying with the pilot I had gone through the Topgun class with just a few weeks before, and we worked very well together. So my pilot and I engaged in a 1v5, and for me it was a fantastic experience of the F-14’s manoeuvrability, weapon system versatility, and crew coordination. These were the days before forward quarter tactics. The notable mission started as a 2v6, and each side lost one aircraft during the intercept. The bandits always presented between 4 and 6 Phantoms. The set-up was a 35-mile start for a forward quarter intercept, with two Tomcats versus an unknown number of Phantoms, a 2vUNK. Meanwhile, our F-14A tomcats were armed (simulated) with AIM-7 s and AIM-9s – the same missiles as the bandits – plus our gun, of course. There were no limits on their weapon system or manoeuvring they were a decent approximation of a MiG-23. To simulate the Flogger, they used full-up F-4N Phantoms operated by regular fleet squadron aircrews. The purpose of the project was to investigate tactics against the then-new MiG-23 Flogger. The first one was a training mission that was part of Project Rising Fighter, which was a series of flights on the TACTS Range near Yuma, Arizona, that was overseen by the Center for Naval Analyses. “There were actually a lot, but I’ll spotlight two of them. Probably no surprise, and I’ll come back to this topic later.” “I’m going to sound like a broken record: the TF30 engines of the F-14A. ![]() ![]() But light the burners and follow an acceleration and climb profile, and you could meet a high-fast flyer, or be at tactical airspeed in a minute or so.” (Of course this would require a permissive environment, but even bumping up the speed to increase survivability still gave decent time on station.) With the relatively large fuel capacity, this gave a healthy on-station time while maintaining a combat package. At throttle settings for maximum endurance, the total fuel flow was around 4,400 pounds per hour. I’m going to throw the engines under the bus, so I might as well give them a little due credit. I’ll add another item as the second-best thing: endurance. I think the next American fighter to have all of these came along seventeen years later, when the AIM-120 became operational on other teen-series fighters. It had long-range, multi-shot, look-down/shoot-down capability. Go back to the F-14’s introduction into Navy service and first deployment in 1974. When I got to NAS Miramar for training, I was surprised at (1) how big the jet was and (2) how dirty many Tomcats were, with footprints, greasy smudges, and leaking fluids. To me it looked like a spaceship, but also a very complex form instead of just a fuselage with wings sticking out of it. After reading about it in aviation magazines, I was excited. “I’ll think back to the first time I saw an F-14 in person, at an air show in 1977, when I was in college. What were your first impressions of the F-14? Dave ‘Bio’ Baranek was a TopGun instructor and Radar Intercept Officer, here he describes flying and fighting in the awe-inspiring Tomcat. Bristling with the most capable weapons in the world it was utterly formidable, and rose to international fame as the star of the 1986 film Top Gun, which celebrated the Navy’s TopGun fighter school. The F-14 Tomcat was a no compromise carrier warplane operated by the US Navy. ![]()
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