Tomcat Retirement

Hi Jim

I am sure that nobody asked the pilots.

I think that someone always had something against the Tomcat. Procurement was always being cut back, crappy engines should have been replaced earlier, complaints of it being too expensive. The F-15 is just as expensive and the F-177 and F-22 prices are enough to make you faint. All the taxes I'll pay in my life won't add up to the undercarrage of one plane. They should have updated the F-14 and A-6 designs and manufacturing so they'd be cheaper to maintain. The F-22 is overkill. Training really makes the difference.

I only know Hornet mechs and pilots so I do not have to repeat what they say. . .nor can I on this forum.

Don

Hey All!

While my main interest is in WW2, I still have my interests in modern jets.

It really is a shame that the the US Navy is retiring the Kitty. While the F-22 and F/A-18F are more technologically superior than the Tomcat, None of them can do Mach 2 or have a long range air-to-air missile capability, both characteristics well known to the F-14. What really depresses me is the fact that our future generation of Naval aviators will only get to fly the F-14 in a computer game, nothing like the real thing.

Lancaster_lover

Bandit's!!! 12 O'Clock High!!!

Are they retiring it like they did the A-10 only to realise how great of a plane it really is and then keep on using it? I never felt the A-10 shouldve been retired, especially when they planned on replacing it with the F-16?!!! lol Hopefully they will realize the same with the F-14 . Just think, one day we may be able to buy a junked out F-14 just like we can with a P-51 or an A-1

This subject is very close to my heart somewhat. My legal father flew Tomcats in the latter part of his naval career. I grew up watching those awesome birds fly at Oceana. I've been inside the Pilot/RIO seat...I have many pictures of this plane. This was a large part of my childhood. While I didnt understand why Dad was gone 6-8 months on a MED cruise...Everything was fine when I got to see him fly back home when the group came back home! This is what made me want to join the Navy! Just so I could fly the F-14 Tomcat...well while that didnt happen I still hold it in very high regards. While as to tactics and fleet status I cant readily speak on.I will make this point...todays Fly-Boys better beef up on thier training because they'll no longer be able to shoot an enemy down from 100Nm away. I can say of all the pilots I have been around and know everyone whos had seat time in a CAT says there is nothing like it! It paved the way for a lot of our more advanced avionics/weapons systems that are on todays aircraft. I too agree with the thought that the F-14 was never given the chance that some of our other aircraft were in regards to fixing bugs or problems. The Tomcat is still one of the fastest planes in the fleet. Still has one of the most advanced missle systems...So why retire something that works so well. IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT!!!
Just some of my thoughts
Chris

Much like the A-10 retirement example, I think we may regret retiring the Tomcats. Let's take an example from current world events: North Korea has anti-ship missles that can be launched from (I beleive) over 100 miles away. What else besides the Tomcat with it's Pheonix missle system can deter that?

I agree with plum 1030 -invest with upgreading and maintaining our existing fleet of Tomcats and spend a minimum on our next generation of fighters. Much like the Superhornet- Design a Super-Duper Tomcat! Call it the F-14E!

It's a shame that it has been phased out, but we have to move on with the times. Maintainability and stealth are not the tomcat's strongest points, not to mention it was too expensive for everyone up at the hill's liking to begin with (heck, how ironic is it that grumman, the company responsible for building America's superfighter was saved with a single check from the shah of Iran?).

Its all around performance looks to be so far nearly unmatched, and one can only wonder how great it would've been if the cat had started out with the GE engines from the start. However, technology is far too great these days to keep being updated in a 40 year old platform, (just like cars), but in my opinion the cat is still one of the best looking aircraft around, and I'm one of the many that are sadened to see it go... The F-18 hornet has big shoes to fill, but I don't think it'll have much trouble filling the void.

anyone see the model of the SuperTomcat 21? I sure would've liked to see that one come to life, but I'll guess I have to settle with the navy's f-14 retirement final flight ceremony (whenever that will come to be)

So what exactly is the plan? Does the navy have a timeframe in which the Tomcat will be phased out?

The Tamiya cat is a model I've always wanted as a child. Now I'm really wanting it!!

Dana

QUOTE: Originally posted by monsterarmor [. Just think, one day we may be able to buy a junked out F-14 just like we can with a P-51 or an A-1

Even if we could, unless our last name was Gates or Trump we couldn't even begin to afford to do anything more than sit in it and make "zoooooom" sounds and think of how impressed Kelly McGillis would be if only she could see us now.
"Maverick, ya big stud...take me to bed or lose me forever"

Hi all,

This will be a short message. Dick Cheney not only ordered the end of Tomcat production, he also ordered that the machinery used to make Tomcats be destroyed. This forced the Navy to eventually go with the Super Hornet. From all I've read, the Super Hornet is a good plane, but it is slow -- maybe even subsonic when fully loaded. An improved Tomcat would have been cheaper and had better performance, but with a smaller load.

I don't think the Tomcat is as fantastic as its most ardent supporters would have us believe, but it's a darned good plane. I don't think the Hornet or Super Hornet are as bad as their detractors would have us belive, but they are both still outclassed in some ways by the Tomcat.

Regards,

-Drew

As a former squid, I have to side on the Cat's defense. There are so many things that the Tomcat can do that none of the other aircraft have a chance to try. It's long-range missile systems, thrust-to-weight ratio, payload, configuration options, you name it. It was an incredible aircraft when it was first released, and it still is one of the most dominant fighters in the world. Unfortunately, the military is not often interested by the performance of certain vehicles or aircraft: it's about money and contracts. Grumman has mostly fallen out of favor with the BigWigs in Washington. I can''t say that I agree with them, but there's not much that we can do about it. I just hope that the military is ready to start flying up against Mig-29's without an OTH radar screen.

demono69

The Tomcat has been one of my favorite A/C growing up. Going to airshows at Miramar and chatting with their pilots almost every year of my life has only increased my admiration of the Tomcat. But just this last week I was at the airshow and when I saw the Tomcats they look almost pathetic sitting on the tarmac. They are an A/C whose time has come and gone. They were once great, for a plane built around a missile, but there is no Soviet bomber force to keep away from the fleet anymore, and so there is no need for the Tomcat anymore. I, like all of you, will be sad to see them go, but for me it is more sad to watch these huge birds dropping bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. If they can't fly their intended mission, just retire them, don't disgrace this amazing air to air combat weapon by making them drop bombs on mud huts.

QUOTE: Originally posted by nwilliamsIf they can't fly their intended mission, just retire them, don't disgrace this amazing air to air combat weapon by making them drop bombs on mud huts.

I disagree with you there, it shows how versatile the aircraft still remains. It is no disgrace at all, but that's just my opinion

My personal opinion is that we should have never gotten rid of the A-6E Intruder; lost a lot of capability with that aircraft in weapons loadand range. The F/A-18 is more stable bombing platform but with the advanced weapons we have now the Intruder would be more lethal.

With the F-14s going away, we'll loose that long range capability and versatility as well. One Tomcat made a "gun run" on an Al Qaida/Taliban position in Afghanistan! It's going to be sad to see them go.

Hello everyone!

Im just as fascinated with the Tomcat as the next guy, and yes, it makes me sad that to see that an era is passing us by. My Cats are not as detailed as my other kits, but they take pride of place in my display cabinet.

However, I take consolation in the fact that somehow, the Cat is retiring while still somewhat ahead. I dont think reading or hearing somewhere that a Cat has been trumped in training by some new but relatively unheralded plane will make me feel better. But then again, thats just me...

There's an interesting perspective on this question here:

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Stories1/001-100/022_SuperHornetSimulator_BrianP/story022.htm

Regards,

-Drew

I'm glad I'm not the only one sad to see them go. She still has great potential.

Even as a Hornet maintainer, I'm a little sad to see them go, too. I had a lot of friends with VF-154 when they left Japan and they well and truly loved that bird! I did manage to get a couple of pics of them at Andersen AFB, Guam on they're way to the States, though.